WARNING FOR PET OWNERS AND GARDENERS

Kay Daly, a wonderful lady with whom I often disagree politically, sent me a warning for pet owners and gardeners in which she wrote, "please pass this on to the caring people you know whether they have pets or not, whether they're gardeners or not..........Join those of us who hope there's a special hell for those who justify what they do or sell because "....only a small percentage of _______(fill in the blank with your choice of humans, livestock and pets, whatever tries to live and grow) will be damaged or die." When did that justification become the basis for safety concerns, for ethical behavior?"

Kay pleads, "Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't have a pet, please pass this on to those who do." So in keeping with her request, I thought that placing the information she sent into my blog would give it the wide distribution it deserves.

Here is the information which, like Kay, I am asking my readers to pass on:

Recently 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, while on her morning 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 was found to be 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 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.