Reminder on danger of cocoa mulch

[Traci]

Davet wanted me to post this....

Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't
have a pet, please pass this to those who do.

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 for 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 company's website, this product is
HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.

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.'

This Snopes site gives the following
information:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden
Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal
ingredient called ' Theobromine'. 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. Theobromine is in 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.
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Admin note: many nurseries/landscape suppliers sell non-toxic mulch available in a variety of colors (blues, reds, browns, blacks, golds) for a much better price since you buy it in bulk (cubic yard increments), lots cheaper and safer. For example, you can load up a pickup bed full or half-full, etc, it's done in minutes with a front-end loader, you only have to unload and spread it yourself in your garden.

[Sonique]

That's awful, I can't believe they don't print a warning

Even though it's winter and I'm sure he won't be doing any gardening, I'll be sending this to my brother right away. He does gardening in the summer and the dogs are always running around outside.