Emailed to me today:
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 a 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
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 "Theo bromine" . 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.
Theo bromine 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 Theo bromine, a
xanthine compoun d 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 Theo bromine.
Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@ hersheys. com and
request that accurate information about this product be posted on the
packaging to avoid further tragedy. PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION !!!