OT: A Warning for my Animal Lover Friends

A good friend of mine sent this to me and I wanted to get the word out, as I know many on here are animal lovers, please be sure to get this word out to all of your family and friends who have 4-legged family members that could unknowingly be harmed. . .  There is a link to Snopes and this has been verified.

PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PET!

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.com site gives the following information: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

Wow! Thanks Laureen! I'd have to think that it probably isn't good for kids then either... not that that was mentioned in the article.

I NEVER thought of this! But chocolate is highly toxic to dogs. Our neighbors lost a beloved springer spaniel who got into some chocolate in their travel bag as they prepared to leave for a weekend away. The dog died very quickly.

Hershey's is well known for providing cocoa mulch. I admit - it smells good!

Thanks Laureen.  I, being the brown thumb gardner I am didn't even know they HAD chocolate mulch

this stuff is the shells leftover from getting the beans out to make chocolate... it does smell great... and we have never had an issue with it and we have used it since before having Lorelei... she thinks it looks like dead bugs (like their shells)... so you don't really have to worry about kids unless you got the ones that will eat anything and everything lol...