Beware the... Mulch?????

Oh for the love of Peat (pardon the pun, couldn't help myself). Buddy here again. Back to tell you about something else we can't eat. Will this list never end??
You might recall from yesterday's post that pets should not eat a list of things that are just fine and dandy for humans to eat. On that list was a big one: Chocolate. Well, turns out some brainiac (yes, I checked with Mr. Colbert on that word too) decided to put a cocoa derivative in MULCH to make it smell real good and repel cats. Helllloooooo. Where do dogs dig, and roll, and pee, and dig some more, and "gee that smells good I think I'll eat some of this stuff," snack? Now it appears to be my responsibility to spread the word not to spread this kind of mulch as it can kill your beloved pets. Now THAT'S serious! Please read the following article for the details that were a little over my head but that you will need so you know what kind is dangerous. Even if you know about this, please pass this along to all friends with pets. Maybe we will tell some folks who already know, but maybe we will end up saving even one fellow four legger. Now THAT'S a good day!



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 died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's web site,

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 li ke 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**