Please read carefully!!
DOG OWNERS BEWARE!!!! PLEASE READ AND DISTRIBUTE TO ALL OTHER DOG
OWNERS YOU KNOW -- NO MORE DOGS SHOULD BE LOST FOR THIS!
Verified by Snopes com & BY GOOGLE
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 the other dog owners 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, 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.
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."
True information about the mulch can be found here -
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm
<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.
Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@hersheys.com
<mailto:michellemessick@hersheys.com> and
request that accurate information about this product be posted on the
packaging to avoid further tragedy.
PLEASE GIVE THIS WIDEST DISTRIBUTION
For anyone who HAS pets or knows someone who has pets, please send
this on. On a lighter note, I think this is the first time I've ever
received a "warning" email that was validated by Google AND Snopes.com
With our 3 dogs each weighing about 50 pounds (give or take a few),
they reported this on Snopes.com:
Eaten by a 50-pound dog, about 2 ounces of cocoa bean mulch may cause
gastrointestinal upset; about 4.5 ounces, increased heart rate; about
5.3 ounces, seizures; and over 9 ounces, death. (In contrast, a
50-pound dog can eat up to about 7.5 ounces of milk chocolate without
gastrointestinal upset and up to about a pound of milk chocolate
without increased heart rate.)
According to tables we've examined, cocoa mulch contains 300-1200 mg.
of theobromine per ounce, making cocoa mulch one of the strongest
concentrations of theobromine your pet will encounter in any chocolate
product.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp
<http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp>
Beware!
DOG OWNERS BEWARE!!!! PLEASE READ AND DISTRIBUTE TO ALL OTHER DOG
OWNERS YOU KNOW -- NO MORE DOGS SHOULD BE LOST FOR THIS!
Verified by Snopes com & BY GOOGLE
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 the other dog owners 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, 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.
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."
True information about the mulch can be found here -
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm
<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.
Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@hersheys.com
<mailto:michellemessick@hersheys.com> and
request that accurate information about this product be posted on the
packaging to avoid further tragedy.
PLEASE GIVE THIS WIDEST DISTRIBUTION
For anyone who HAS pets or knows someone who has pets, please send
this on. On a lighter note, I think this is the first time I've ever
received a "warning" email that was validated by Google AND Snopes.com
With our 3 dogs each weighing about 50 pounds (give or take a few),
they reported this on Snopes.com:
Eaten by a 50-pound dog, about 2 ounces of cocoa bean mulch may cause
gastrointestinal upset; about 4.5 ounces, increased heart rate; about
5.3 ounces, seizures; and over 9 ounces, death. (In contrast, a
50-pound dog can eat up to about 7.5 ounces of milk chocolate without
gastrointestinal upset and up to about a pound of milk chocolate
without increased heart rate.)
According to tables we've examined, cocoa mulch contains 300-1200 mg.
of theobromine per ounce, making cocoa mulch one of the strongest
concentrations of theobromine your pet will encounter in any chocolate
product.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp
<http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp>
Beware!
