http://midwestdogblog.tumblr.com/post/50960136050/please-tell-ev   
   ry-dog-or-cat-owner-you-know-even   
      
   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. Halfway    
   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:http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp   
      
     .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 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**   
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    * Origin: www.holo.homeip.net:   -telnet://holo.homeip.net (1:261/1381)