This came through one of my dog lists. I am unsure if people use this material. The list is out of the USA. Liz Even If you don't have dog or cat pets, please -- forward this to those folks on your mailing list who do. Read this carefully. It could save a pet's life. WARNING - DO NOT USE COCOA MULCH IF YOU OWN PETS - DON'T USE THAT COCOA MULCH! Verified by Snopes: http://www.snopes. com/critters/ crusader/ cocoamulch. asp This Snopes site gives the following information: 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 y our gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens. 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 d i ed 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! !!
Yep. A good example of the fact that various plant components have very widely differing toxicites to different animal species; theobromine is perfectly safe for people, but not for cats or dogs. Conversely, many plants which are dangerously poisonous for people, are harmless for various other animal species.
Thanks Liz! I just got this too and was going to post it but you beat me to it. Chocolate is toxic to dogs and it makes sense to me that a mulch using cocoa shells would be bad for dogs too.
