Posted April 16, 2010 Please  tell  every dog or cat owner you know. Even if  you don't have a pet,  please pass this to those  who do. Over the weekend,   the doting owner of two young lab mixes  purchased Cocoa Mulch  from Target to  use in their garden. 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. Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label,   upon further investigation on the company's web site,  this product is HIGHLY toxic to  dogs  and cats. 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." *Snopes site gives  the following  information:http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp * 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 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. 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. ALSO......... If you have a dog ... PLEASE read this .  If you don'thave a dog, please pass along to friends who do.    Written by: Laurinda Morris, DVMDanville Veterinary Clinic Danville , OH This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday.  He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7 AM.. I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said  to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours. The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids.  At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care. He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 ... He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize. This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic... Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.. Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avocadoes and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too. Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do... This is worth passing on to them.