Dangerous substance WARNING
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. Please tell every dog owner you know. 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, Mum 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." Also included was the following information - Quote: 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. 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 GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION!!! not sure where this is available so will post here anyway! |
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It's so sad  I had heard of the problem a few years ago.
The stuff should have a huge warning on it. Here's more info from the ASPCA- http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pa ... tionscocoa |
| I want to make a special note to city-dog owners like me: this is one more reason we have to be super vigilant while walking our dogs.
My first reaction when I see warnings like this is usually, Oh, I don't have a garden, that doesn't affect me. And then I realize how many different little gardens Hermione and I walk past/through in any given week. Many lovely civic-minded city people will adopt a street tree (i.e., one planted along the sidewalk) in front of their buliding and mulch it, water it, and plant around it. Certainly if it was me, and if I didn't know better, I'd be likely to choose for my little project a mulch that smelled like chocolate(!) especially if they had a small bag at Target. So now I'll have to watch that aggressive 'sniffing' (which can sooo quickly turn to 'chowing') Hermione does around those little garden patches. As if digging chicken wing bones out of my dog's gullet on a regular basis weren't enough... 
Thanks for the info! |
| This topic has also been posted last week.
http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=20322 I don't think I've seen it at home depot or target in my area d/fw . |
Sorry if it is a repeat, but better to be told twice than have something happen.  |
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