A WARNING ABOUT MULCH AND YOUR DOG (and maybe cat)

Dear WAG members and friends:

Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchasedCocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the wayit smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from theirgarden. Their dog Calypso, decided that the mulch smelled goodenough to eat and devoured a largehelping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eatssomething 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, uponfurther investigation on the companies web site, this product isHIGHLY toxic to dogs.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s, and they claim that “It istrue that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat CocoaMulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending oneach individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won’t eat it.”

True information about the mulch can be found here - This site givesthe following information:

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden Supplyand other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredientcalled “Theobromine”.

It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and itreally attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Severaldeaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word ofcaution - check what you are using in your gardens and be aware ofwhat 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 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 shellsdeveloped severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis ofthe stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed thepresence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@hersheys.com andrequest that accurate information about this product be posted onthe packaging to avoid further tragedy.