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 caffei n e 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 revea led the pres ence of lethal amounts of theobromine.


PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION! !!


Harvey

WOW:eek: Thanks for sharing, I have two cats.

Bonehead owners - don't they already know that chocolate is poisonious to dogs???

No amount of chocolate is considered safe. Also, dog owners shouldn't have grapes on their property - they're also lethal. And both cats and dogs should never have onion.

as with all the other "warning" emails there are parts of this story that are true and some parts that just aren't.

ANY chocolate is dangerous to dogs, that is true and should be the main warning here.

most dogs won't eat that mulch, and as far as Snopes could find there has only been ONE reported & documented case of a dog actually getting sick or dying from eating this.

Home Depot does NOT sell a version of this product that is harmful to pets - they sell a similar product that is "theobromine-free and pet safe."

the bottom line is that if you have pets, do not leave ANY type of chocolate lying around.

^^ Exactly.

It's like something that happened up here recently. Dogs in Port Perry were getting sick after eating CHOCOLATE cupcakes someone had thrown away in a park.

What kills me is that the first thing they did, is say they had to be "laced with something". (Pointing to anti-freeze, rat killer, etc.). Then it was discovered they had some weed in them!!! Then they jumped on the marijuana thing.

Now I'm not saying the grass was good, but it wouldn't have shut down their livers and kidneys like these were doing. And the killer, not even the vets mentioned anything about the fact that the cupcakes were CHOCOLATE. Duh people!!!

what I don't understand is why would anyone in their right mind want their yard to smell like chocolate anyways?

what I don't understand is why would anyone in their right mind want their yard to smell like chocolate anyways?


Better than manure I suppose! ;)

i thought it was common knowledge that any chocolate is bad for cats and dogs. kind of a shame because any time my cat sees someone eating it she goes nuts trying to get some for herself.

i thought it was common knowledge that any chocolate is bad for cats and dogs. kind of a shame because any time my cat sees someone eating it she goes nuts trying to get some for herself.
i have a cat that goes nuts for Doritos - she will NOT let you eat them without giving her some.

i have a cat that goes nuts for Doritos - she will NOT let you eat them without giving her some.


Yours too eh?

Luckily, none of my pets bother me for chocolate. They smell it and know they won't be getting any so they don't even bother. It's probably the ONE food they don't beg for.

LOL I had a lop-eared, dwarf rabbit who wouldn't let anyone eat ice cream without her getting a good portion of it! She would actually run up your arm and grab onto the bowl with her claws and start taking huge bunny bites out of it. She must have gotten quite a few brain freeze headaches! :lol:

i thought it was common knowledge that any chocolate is bad for cats and dogs. kind of a shame because any time my cat sees someone eating it she goes nuts trying to get some for herself.

Same with my cat, she want's whatever I'm eating. I have to tell her no, you can't have chocolate. She loves licking banana peels and apple cores.