I got this in an email:
Subject: WARNING TO PET OWNERS
Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me
to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family.
Please tell all dog/cat owners you know.
Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa
Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and
it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso,
decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She
vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't
acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out
or her morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.
Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further
investigation on the companies web site, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs.
Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that "It is true
that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer
physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog).
However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it." True information about the mulch can be found here -
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htmThis site gives the following information:
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other
Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called "Theo bromine".
It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really
attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in
the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution ? check what you are using in your
gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.
Theo bromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate ?
especially dark or baker's chocolate ? which is toxic to dogs.
Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a
xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that
ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells
developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach
contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.
Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@hersheys.com
<mailto:michellemessick@hersheys.com> and request that accurate information
about this product be posted on the packaging to avoid further tragedy.
PLEASE GIVE THIS WIDEST DISTRIBUTION
