Crystal Wellman wrote: >I write a local pet care newsletter and in my last issue I wrote about >Cocoa Mulch. Cocoa mulch has been the cause of death in several dogs. >It contains Thebromine which smells like chocolate and is fatal. I have never seen mulch from cocoa trees ( Theobroma cacao ) on the market in fact, I would be surprised to hear that such a product actually exists for sale within North Americ ), but 'coco-mulch' or 'coco-peat' or 'coir' made from coconut ( Cocos nucifera ) husks/bark is extremely common, and contains no harmful substances (I cannot offer any data regarding potential alimentary blockages from ingestion, as there isn't currently any research on the subject). That being said, the potential risk from ingestion of cocoa-plant products in ferrets has not been established well, as empirical data would suggest that ferrets are more tolerant of theobromine than Canidae or Felidae. As well, I am not familiar with the actual content of theobromine in mulch made from cocoa plants, but I would imagine it to be fairly small, as such chemicals tend to be concentrated in the fruits and leaves of plants, not the bark. Crystal, I would be most interested in viewing any documented veterinary data regarding poisonings in dogs from cocoa-mulches, and the actual names/manufacturers of the products involved. G. A. Christian Bilou [Posted in FML issue 3653]