http://midwestdogblog.tumblr.com/post/50960136050/please-tell-ev
ry-dog-or-cat-owner-you-know-even

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. The dogs loved the way 
it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. 
Their dog (Calypso) decided 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. Halfway 
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 web site,

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.”

*Snopes site gives the following 
information:http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

  .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.

**PLEASE PASS THIS ON**
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