[nagdu] Recent alert Concerning Mulch

[Garry and Joy Relton]

Hello Fellow Dog Guide Users

I recently received the following alert concerning garden mulch and its
potential threat to the health of your dog. As far as I can tell it looks
legitimate. Does anyone else know differently?
    
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
<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. 
 
Checked on www.snopes.com <http://www.snopes.com>  and it is TRUE.

Joy and Belle,