04-04-2003, 03:56 PM
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mulch fertilizer may pose hazard to dogs
I wonder if Increase Mather would have the same opinion after
swallowing a couple of organic castor bean seeds?
On 03 Apr 2003 20:41:59 GMT, c (TOM KAN PA) wrote:
In case you are planning to do mulching this spring!
http://www.aspca.org/site/News2?page...s_iv_ctrl=1400
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Issues Cocoa Bean Fertilizer Warning
Friday, March 14, 2003
Organic mulch fertilizer may pose hazard to dogs
Contacts: Deborah Sindell
(212)-876-7700 ext. 4658
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(URBANA, IL) March 13, 2003 -- As spring approaches, people will start to
tend their lawns and gardens. Many will consider using cocoa bean mulch as
a fertilizer. Made from spent cocoa beans used in chocolate production,
cocoa bean mulch is organic, deters slugs and snails, and gives a garden an
appealing chocolate smell. However, it also attracts dogs, who can easily
be poisoned by eating the mulch.
Cocoa beans contain the stimulants caffeine and theobromine. Dogs are
highly sensitive to these chemicals, called methylxanthines. In dogs, low
doses of methylxanthine can cause mild gastrointestinal upset (vomiting,
diarrhea, and/or abdominal pain); higher doses can cause rapid heart rate,
muscle tremors, seizures, and death.
Eaten by a 50-pound dog, about 2 ounces of cocoa bean mulch may cause
gastrointestinal upset; about 4.5 ounces, increased heart rate; about 5.3
ounces, seizures; and over 9 ounces, death. (In contrast, a 50-pound dog
can eat up to about 7.5 ounces of milk chocolate without gastrointestinal
upset and up to about a pound of milk chocolate without increased heart rate.)
If you suspect that your dog has eaten cocoa bean mulch, immediately
contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
(1-888-426-4435). Treatment will depend on how much cocoa bean mulch your
dog has eaten, when the mulch was eaten, and whether your dog is sick.
Recommended care may include placing your dog under veterinary observation,
inducing vomiting, and/or controlling a rapid heart beat or seizures.
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