http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/luvmypit/287 My friend just sent this to me and apparently it's legit... Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and  wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving  friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know.   Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes 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. Their dog  Calypso decided that 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.   Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on t he label, upon further  investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to  dogs.   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/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm;  http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm   This site gives the following information: Cocoa Mulch, which is so ld 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  prese nce of lethal amounts of th eobromine.  Please  email the manufacturer at michellemessick@ hersheys. com and request  that accurate information about this product be posted on the packaging  to avoid further tragedy. My friend just sent this to me and apparently it's legit... Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and  wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving  friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know.   Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes 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. Their dog  Calypso decided that 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.   Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on t he label, upon further  investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to  dogs.   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/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm;  http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm   This site gives the following information: Cocoa Mulch, which is so ld 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  prese nce of lethal amounts of th eobromine.  Please  email the manufacturer at michellemessick@ hersheys. com and request  that accurate information about this product be posted on the packaging  to avoid further tragedy. en-us