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View Full Version : *IMPORTANT ALERT* for pet owners!



okaywithme
May 15th, 2010, 09:53 PM
Just received this.

Even if you don't have this in your own garden, pay close attention to what others have around your neighbourhood, with family, friends and at your cottage.


'Please share this with all the pet owners you know and ask them to do the same - the information you take a few minutes to share might prevent the senseless loss of other pets.

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. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and she died instantly. Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's own web site stated that,

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* >

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**

JohnathanO
May 17th, 2010, 01:03 PM
Thank You OP, will pass this on.

dmxlite
May 18th, 2010, 09:43 PM
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/cocoa-mulch-warning.html

Some snippets:


"A big problem from the perspective of a toxicologist and a veterinary clinician is that if you have poisoning from methylxanthines, you get a progression of signs — vomiting, diarrhea, more vomiting, trembling, the heart rate kicks up, then it may progress to seizures if the dose is exceptionally high, with death being uncommon," Dr. Hansen said. "A necropsy would have likely shown that Calypso had an underlying condition that caused her death."


There are a number of companies that distribute the product. One, Florida Cocoa Mulch, claims to have sold millions of bags of cocoa mulch and never had a single report about a dog getting seriously ill from eating the product. However, it seems that several of the companies that previously distributed the product have now ceased to do so. The warning message claims that large US chocolate and sugar confectionery company, Hershey's distributes cocoa mulch. While the company did sell the product in the past, it no longer does...


Although the truth of Calypso's story may be somewhat questionable, dog owners should certainly take heed of the message's warning. If you have a dog, especially one that is not fussy about what it eats (not an uncommon characteristic among our canine friends), it would be wise to avoid the use of cocoa mulch, or at least keep a close eye on Rover's garden forays.

okaywithme
May 18th, 2010, 10:52 PM
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/cocoa-mulch-warning.html

Some snippets:

Thank you for this additional information. I've seen cocoa mulch. It's quite an interesting mulch and if I recall correctly, I think it's rather expensive?!

penipitcher
May 21st, 2010, 01:48 PM
Thanks for the info. Highly appreciated.

kin0kin
May 21st, 2010, 05:18 PM
People who usually lose their dogs, or get their dogs killed unconsciously are the people who gave the dogs too much freedom, or did not demonstrate adequate supervision.

I'd not be surprised to see silly owners bringing their dogs to vineyard and let the dogs eat whatever they want and end up reporting the same kind of story.