[CorkyMax]

Just got this info in an email from a member in this forum and she wanted me to send it on:
Please share this with all the pet owners you know and ask them to do the same - the information you take a few minutes to share might prevent the senseless loss of other pets.



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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. The dogs loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog (Calypso) decided 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 web site,

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."
*Snopes site gives the following information:snopes.com: Cocoa Mulch Danger to Dogs *

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 li ke 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.

**PLEASE PASS THIS ON**

[Todd]

Thank you very much for sharing. I actually have in fact heard that this is potentially fatal to dogs, however many people don't seem to know this.

Also, if you ever forget the type of mulch that is dangerous for dogs just think of chocolate. We all know that chocolate is bad for dogs. Chocolate is cocoa so cocoa mulch is also bad for dogs. Get it??? LOL

[Mr. Vega]

An added note about chocolate:

There's usually much confusion about which chocolate is worse and why. So, here's a little table that shows how much theobromine is in each chocolate source.

Numbers are in mg/oz

White Chocolate - Trace
Milk Choc - 58
Dark Choc - 130
Semisweet Choc - 138
Baking Choc - 393
Dry Cocoa Powder - 737
Cocoa Beans - 600

The toxic dose for theobromine is upwards around 90 or 100 mg/kg. As you can see, a dog that weighs say, 30 kg would need approximately 3000 mg of theobromine for a toxic dose. That's like 50 oz of normal, milk chocolate. So, I don't freak out and run to the emergency vet if my dogs happen to sneak a hershey's kiss behind my back.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Mr. Vega

An added note about chocolate:

There's usually much confusion about which chocolate is worse and why. So, here's a little table that shows how much theobromine is in each chocolate source.

Numbers are in mg/oz

White Chocolate - Trace
Milk Choc - 58
Dark Choc - 130
Semisweet Choc - 138
Baking Choc - 393
Dry Cocoa Powder - 737
Cocoa Beans - 600

The toxic dose for theobromine is upwards around 90 or 100 mg/kg. As you can see, a dog that weighs say, 30 kg would need approximately 3000 mg of theobromine for a toxic dose. That's like 50 oz of normal, milk chocolate. So, I don't freak out and run to the emergency vet if my dogs happen to sneak a hershey's kiss behind my back.

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.

There must be quite a bit in this mulch (as per above paragraph!) or the dog likes it so well and prob. a lot to eat from and prob. not being supervised------It is a warning to be well aware of! Thanks for posting the amounts in the different kinds of chocolate. I was aware of most of it and---Do I dare admit (few years back--I quit giving it since!) I knew there wasn't that much in a Hershey's Kiss and my 'little buggers/beggers' were always begging for it that I occasionally gave them each a half a kiss. Dogs sure like this sweet chocolate! There was nowhere near enough to kill them but I don't think it is good to give any as it is not good for their system even a little bit and better not to mess with that at all!