Skip to content

Beware of this mulch - POISON!

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • 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. 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, 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, 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.'

    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 Sup ply 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 th eobromine, 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!!!

  • I never have understood why anyone would want their yard to smell of chocolate, but whatever….

    If you read the whole Snopes. article you'll see that the warning is old -- 2003 -- and that companies have already taken steps to get rid of the theobromine, even though the real risk is very low {the one dog cited is the only verified death}.

  • Yep, I saw that, but the dog that died was in 2007 so I thought it might be good to post this - particularly since this is the time of year (at least up here in the NE) when people start thinking about grooming their lawns… never hurts to know what to keep an eye out for...

  • Thanks for the info! Definitely a good warning during this time of year.

3/4

17 Mar 2009, 17:32

Suggested Topics

  • 0 Votes
    2 Posts
    949 Views
    Did she always have them or did they start after something/some time? Do antihistamines clear the problem?
  • 0 Votes
    8 Posts
    1k Views
    @elbrant said in Bordatella and Canine Influenza Vaccines: @Saving said in Bordatella and Canine Influenza Vaccines: divisive I guess I'm a dreamer.... but I believe that adults can have discussions and opinions without resorting to name calling and rude remarks. Your input is valuable. Thanks, because it's become a religion as soon as you speak against it people get so offended. The last 3 years has shown that quite clearly @Saving said in Bordatella and Canine Influenza Vaccines: Another friend's dog has a swollen leg at the vaccination site of his booster which is not resolving I"m sorry to hear about your friend's loss and understand the concern about the other friend's swollen leg. I had a similar experience, one of my dog's (not doodle) had a grossly swollen leg following a vet visit. The Vet told me it was cancer and I opted to let her go. Month's later I read online that it could have been the result of an allergic reaction. Please advise your friend to research possible answers before she makes a decision. Will do, a lot of the medication/vaccines cause inflammatory responses so it could just be that, it's still not nice for the dog to have that experience @Saving said in Bordatella and Canine Influenza Vaccines: dry food ... suffering from malnutrition omgosh! That is so scary!! I doubt the big manufacturers would ever allow a real study to see the light of day, but I would love to see one done. Just the thought makes me want to keep feeding my girl human grade foods. Yeah the same here, her research indicated that raw chicken wings were the optimal food and contain pretty much everything needed. I guess if you think of some of the processed crap they have in supermarkets trading as food for humans you can imagine how low the bar can go for pet food.
  • 0 Votes
    5 Posts
    731 Views
    @serenjane My Kembe had the freckles on her neck - more pronounced in summer months w/ the sun and also as she aged. I use to call her my little 🦒 giraffe. 😂
  • 0 Votes
    19 Posts
    1k Views
    To give you an idea of the contrast between Basenjis and Border Collies, my BC once spit out a pill, I said "Blackie" in a disapproving tone, and he picked it up from the floor and swallowed it!
  • 0 Votes
    10 Posts
    8k Views
    My Basenjis do eat acorns with no effect at all. I do find that mine seem to know what they can and can't eat. I suppose each generation has learned from the last. Puppies of course have to be watched (like human babies) because they'll chew anything. Incidentally when I was a child (a very,very long time ago) i too used to eat acorns, - again with no ill effects!
  • 0 Votes
    10 Posts
    2k Views
    As for the poison-ivy, I've talked to our diagnostic vet here at the university and dogs aren't affected by the oil in poison-ivy. However, it can stay on their hair/skin for a few days and "infect" you (you can get a jewelweed soap that works great online). So you should wash off your dog as soon as you get back from your walks. I used to take my previous beastie to my brother's place where there is some poison-ivy - I didn't think he had gotten into it since I was with him the whole time. Later that evening he was laying in my lap (it was summer, I had shorts on). A couple of days later I had a bad case all over my upper thighs.