Subject: Please tell every dog or cat owner you
know
Before Spring gets here, and we start to work in our yards
Even
if you don't have a pet, please pass this to those who do.
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.
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 dev oured 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.
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. 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.
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 beanshells 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
GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION! You would think no one
would want to use this stuff for fear of killing a neighbors pet.
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