toxic gardening mulch

Posted by The San Francisco Dog Walker

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by home Depot and various Garden Supply stores  contains a lethal ingredient called ‘Theobromine’, which is lethal to dogs and cats. Cocoa Mulch is a mulch that is used for retaining moisture around plants in the garden and is popular because it smells like chocolate, which is also, really attractive to dogs. They can ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in San Francisco.

The ingredient 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 dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later in San Francisco. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.