toxic product warning

[kirsty]

This was sent to me by German Shepherd Rescue


This message has been sent in by one of our members and originates from Ali Taylor, Head of Welfare, Battersea Dogs Home.

Quote:
Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know.

Over the weekend 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, Mum 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 website, 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.'

Also included was the following information -

Quote:
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. Just a word of caution, check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.

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 GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION!!!
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"In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog."

[jackdeb]

OMG.

Tragic, and sad story. That could have been avoided with a warning.

Never had a garden before. But will be checking ingredients for Theobromine before a purchasing anything fr the new garden.

Jack
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springers rule!!! our house

[Dan McK]

That's terrible!!!

I've looked at this before, and considered it because it does smell lovely. Glad I never got any now!!!
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Parsons Russell fanatic

[geri carroll]

thats awful

I too have looked at this product for the garden.....maybe being lazy has its advantages as never get around to doing any gardening

[amandawhitelaw]

OMG i feel so sorry for the owners of the dog. I cant imagine my life without Yoda. Something so simple could have been done to prevent this tragedy. We have a large garden at the new house and i will double check when the gardner comes that i want to see all packets of products so i can investigate. Or even better i will not allow him to use any products at all.

[Jack]

Thanks for the warning Kirsty. A really tragic story
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Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk

[Joe]

Wow

How can this be sold without a very specific warning

very sad to read




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Loyalty and Devotion is not a given right it must be earned

[kendal]

someone on another forum that i posted the content of this thread lead me to another thread with this info on it, thought you might like to read it.

[kendal]

just a thought, but if you have a dog and you pick up a packet that you are going to spread around your garden and you know the dog will have full access to it. would you really want to use a product that has 'cocoa' in the title, knowing that cocoa is bad for dogs and sometimes like in this case fatal.
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microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk

[Suzanne H]

I'm with you Kendal - good old bark for me.

Tho, it should have a health warning on it - most garden products do tell you what you should and shouldn't put down around pets.

I'm assuming in the second list that there is a difference between bread and bread dough, cos Otto eats bread all the time, usually what the birds have dropped from the bird table.

And surely the amount is a factor with some of these things ie if your dog picked a bit of onion or liver you'd dropped on the floor, he's not going to keel over.

[Dave Rowland]

Kendal, did Inca have too much Coco and was white once?
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Quoting Jack: you know me - a complete hopeless case & Sadly - and mark it in your diaries folks as you won't see this happen often - but <gulp> I HAVE to agree with Dave on this.
Quoting Kendal: coulu you decapitate innes for me please

[kendal]