DOG POISONING WARNING –

                             Cocoa Mulch Can Cause Death (manufactured by Hershey}

 

In Loving Memory of Calypso.

 Denise (Calypso's mom) a doting owner of two young lab/golden retriever mixes. Wants to pass this information along so no one has to experience the same tragedy she went through. 
   
 
Over the weekend, Denise purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden.

 Loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. They set the bag in their yard.

Their dog Calypso,
decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat so she broke into it and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical of her when she would get into something she shouldn't have gotten in to. She was not 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 companys website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs.
  
 
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).
  
 
 
True information about the mulch can be found here -
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm  This site gives the following information: 
 
 
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 the ingredient that is used to make 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.