coco Mulch can kill your pets

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 a large chain store 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 died instantly.    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 cocoa 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**