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Senior Yorkie Talker




Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: ky
Posts: 213 Important Please Read

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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 companies web site, 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 do g). 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.htm 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 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.

wow! Thanks for posting this. Why would they make mulch that smells like chocolate in the first place? Duh! Of course animals and small children would want to eat it. That is one product that should be pulled from the shelves immediately!

OMG....thankyou so much for this post!

Thank-You sooo much for posting about this mulch!!!!

Wtf
 

:thumbdownI'm getting so agrivated and sadened by all these stupid people who are maketing this stuff...you mean to tell me these concerns were never braught up???? Thanks for the info...How sad for that poor family:(

omg... we are needing mulch.. so I will have to do some homework on this now.... thanks so much for posting this...anne

I was just thinking that myself... small children would be eating it!!!! WTH were they thinking... I hope this gets pulled from stores very quickly

WOW!!!!! Thank you so very much for starting this thread. How scary! I am sure that your post will save many lives.....

Not doubting the validity of the information, but I'm pretty certain this isn't a recent event. I recall reading it much much earlier than this year.

Not that it matters, but our Target hasn't sold lawn products or plants in several years either.