Please Don't Poison Your Dog

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/cocoamul
ch.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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Joan, thanks for taking the time to forward this piece of scary information to me. Certainly, the more people that are made aware of this the fewer animals there will be meeting an unpleasant & untimely end. It's not only cats and dogs that could fall foul of this product but wildlife too would be vulnerable. I hope that enough shit is raised concerning the safety of this stuff that the stores are forced to remove it from their shelves. Unfortunately, it'll probably take more than a few lost loved ones (pets) & perhaps a few lawsuits to get their attention.
Brightest blessings, R.