Cocoa Mulch~ Do Not Use If You Have Pets

This article came via e-mail to me and it was asked that it be passed on. I also read an newspaper article this morning on the same subject where one dog passed away after eating the mulch. Please read it and pass it on.

WARNING – DO NOT USE COCOA MULCH IF YOU OWN PETS!!!!!

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 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.

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 – <>

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 ‘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 contai n
potentially toxic quantities of Theo bromine, 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 Theo bromine. Please
email the manufacturer at michellemessick@ Hershey’s. com and request that
accurate information about this product be posted on the packaging to avoid
further tragedy. PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION !!!