Did a little research, and apparently the cocoa mulch warning is quite real. Below is a link to an articla writte by Sandra Mason, Unit Educator: Horticulture & Environment for the University of Illinois, Champaign. Excerpt from article (which may be found, in its entirity at: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/champaign/homeowners/020608.html ) follows: " As Wiesbrook and Gwaltney-Brant reported, the amount of methylxanthines in cocoa hulls is substantial at 255 mg/oz. And that's just the theobromine; no data was available for caffeine. In comparison, milk chocolate has only 64 mg/oz of methylxanthines, and less than 1 oz of milk chocolate/lb (2 oz/kg) is potentially lethal to dogs. So 65 oz (4 lb) of milk chocolate would be potentially lethal for a 65-lb dog. But, if she were to eat cocoa-hull mulch, it would only take about 2.25 oz to produce mild signs and 12 oz to be potentially lethal. Of course, these amounts would be much less for a smaller dog. "Some manufacturers do include a warning statement on the bag. If you have an older dog that isn't all that inquisitive, cocoa mulch may not be a problem, but if you have a young dog that tends to dig and chew, you may want to consider different mulch. "For more information, call your local veterinarian or animal poison control center. You can reach a link to the center by clicking on http://www.aspca.org. Also at this site is an article on chocolate intoxication http://www.aspca.org/apcc/toxbrief_0201.pdf that gives detailed information on clinical signs and treatment, as well as an example for calculating the methylxanthine dosage. At the above Web address, you'll also find information on protecting your pet from pesticides and fertilizers, as well as a list of plants that are toxic to pets. Thanks to Wiesbrook and Gwaltney-Brant for alerting us to this potential problem. " [Posted in FML issue 4169]