This is the short version: cocoa mulch contains a substance that is dangerous, even lethal, to dogs when ingested. It smells good, so attracts dogs, who will eat anything, including this mulch.
Don't use it! If you want a sweet smelling mulch, use cedar. Even if you don't have pets, someone else's pets could possibly eat it it.
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Read below for more info and sources.
I sent this as an e-mail last year. I sent this out last year after someone in my rescue group passed it along. It's spring and people are probably starting to think about working on gardens, so it's worth sending again. :)
If you want to know more about it or what to do if your pet ingests it, the first link is the Snopes link, but the others are Hershey, ASPCA, and another dog site.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp
http://web.archive.org/web/20031013173740/http://www.aspca.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=12729
http://www.hersheys.com/mulch/faq.shtml
http://www.gsrne.org/Chocolate.htm
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I'm passing this along. I checked it on snopes.com (internet hoax site) and it is true, with some minor changes. Please check the link yourself for more information (link below).
TEXT REC'D::
----- Original Message -----
Subject: Fw: Warning about Cocoa Mulch
Yesterday, one of our clients experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family. I was hoping you could forward this to your contact list.
My client was the doting owner of two young lab/golden retriever mixes. Over the weekend, they 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. They set the bag in their yard. Their dog Calypso decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat so she broke into it and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical of her when she would get into something she shouldn't have gotten in to. She was not acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Halfway 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. Denise (Calypso's mom) wanted me to pass this information along so no one had to experience the same tragedy she went through.
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."
True information about the mulch can be found here - http://www.snopes.com...a.htm This 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 your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.
Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make 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.
