PLEASE READ: DO NOT USE Cocoa Mulch if you have dogs!!!

[Guest guest]

Attention: all pet owners, particularly those who have dogs. If you

don't

have dog pets, please forward this to those folks on your mailing

list who

do.

 

Read this carefully. It could save a dog's life.

 

WARNING - DO NOT USE COCOA MULCH IF YOU OWN PETS - DON'T USE THAT

COCOA

MULCH!

 

Verified by Snopes

 

VERIFIED ALSO BY GOOGLE

 

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 every dog owner 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 arden. 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.

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.html

<http://www.snop/>

 

This 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

" 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. 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.

Theobromine 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 f 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 and

request

that accurate information about this product be posted on the

packaging to

avoid further tragedy.

 

PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION! !!

 

Amy Beichler

 

Executive Director, Public Animal Welfare Society, (PAWS)

 

A Nonprofit Humane Society Serving the Animals & People of Greater

Cleveland

and Cuyahoga County Since 1976