<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">I received the following message from a friend in New York City and<DIV>thought I should pass it on. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>June</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">DANGER TO DOGS</P><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; "> PLEASE send this to everyone you know --- even if they don't have pets <BR>and ask them to send it on to everyone they know. The original sender <BR>received this from a friend in Pittsburgh who received it from a vet.</DIV><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">Yesterday, one of our clients experienced a tragedy and wanted me to <BR>pass a special message along to all of my dog-loving friends and family. <BR>I was hoping you could forward this to your contact list.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">My client was the doting owner of two young lab/golden retriever mixes. <BR>Overthe weekend, they purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their <BR>garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep <BR>cats away from their garden. They set the bag in their yard.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">Their dog, Calypso, decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat so <BR>she broke into it and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times <BR>which was typical of her when she would get into something she shouldn't <BR>have gotten in to. She was not acting lethargic in any way.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half <BR>way through the walk she had a seizure and died instantly.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further <BR>investigation on the company's web site, this product is HIGHLY toxic to <BR>dogs. Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that "It <BR>is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa <BR>Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees depending on each <BR>individual dog. However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it."</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">True information about the mulch can be found here: <BR><A href="http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#2000FF">http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm</FONT></A> <BR><<A href="http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#2000FF"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm</SPAN></FONT></FONT></A>></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">(You can also check with <A href="http://www.truthorfiction.com">www.truthorfiction.com</A> <BR><<A href="http://www.truthorfiction.com/"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#2000FF">http://www.truthorfiction.com</FONT></A>> <<A href="http://www.truthorfiction.com/"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#2000FF">http://www.truthorfiction.com</FONT></A>> )</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">This site gives the following information: Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by <BR>Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, <BR>contains a lethal ingredient called "Theobromine".</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it attracts <BR>some dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already <BR>occurred in the last 2-3 weeks.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">Just a word of caution. Check what you are using in your gardens and be <BR>aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.</P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px">Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate <BR>especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean <BR>shells contain potentially toxic quantities of Theobromine, a xanthine <BR>compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that <BR>ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cocoa bean shells <BR>developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the <BR>stomach contents and the ingested cocoa bean shells revealed the <BR>presence of lethal amounts of Theobromine.</P></BODY></HTML>