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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Comic Sans MS">Most of you know this but I just
got an email on this and wanted to share for those who have not seen this yet.
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<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT
size=4>Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if
you don't have a pet, please pass this to those who do.
<BR>Over the weekend, the doting owner of two young lab mixes
purchased Cocoa Mulch from <U>Target</U> <B>to use in their
garden</B>. 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 . Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and
died instantly. <BR><BR>Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on
the label, upon further investigation on the company's web site,
<BR><BR><U>this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and
cats</U>. <BR><BR>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."<BR>*Snopes site gives the following
information:<FONT color=blue
face="Times New Roman"><U>http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp</U></FONT></FONT><FONT
size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman"> * <BR><BR>Cocoa Mulch, which
is sold by <U>Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden
supply stores</U> contains a lethal ingredient called
'Theobromine'. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells li ke
chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff
and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3
weeks.<BR><BR>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 died 17 hours
later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao
bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of
theobromine. <BR> </FONT><FONT color=red
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