Saw this on another forum -


Subject: Fwd: Attention Dog owners

Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't have a pet,
please pass this to those who do.

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

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 th eobromine, a xanthine compound similar in
effects to caffei n e 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! !!