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/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.