Something to Bark About

You may have recently seen an email circulating that warns of toxic mulch found at certain retailers (Target, Meijer, Home Depot, etc).  The toxic mulch supposedly contains ingredients found from chocolate (which is toxic to us canines) and has caused a few faithful companions to suddenly become ill and pass away within a few hours of digesting the mulch.  While we have not been in contact with this mulch first paw (not first hand people, we're DOGS), we do not discount the statements about the mulch causing other canines to become sick.

If you're not really sure what mulch is or is made of, mulch is shredded pieces of wood/tree bark that is processed through a shredder and then treated with certain chemicals/ingredients/dyes to make it more desirable to consumers based on their personal preferences (type/color, etc).  What we are here to tell you is that no matter the type/brand/size/color/smell of mulch, it is not good for our tummies AT ALL!!

Some of the mulch you may buy is treated with 'fertilizer' which could come from animal waste (and we have heard human waste has been used as well...seriously).  Some of the mulch you may buy is treated with dyes (to make it red/dark brown/black/brown).  Some of the mulch you buy is treated with fertilizer to help the plants/trees/shrubs/flowers grow faster/stronger/healthier.

What does this all mean to you dog owners/dog fans?  This all means that you should not allow your dog to chew on and/or consume mulch.  "Fido, fetch the stick" is so 1950's because in present times, vets and dog professionals will tell you that wood/bark is not at all good for a canine's stomach/mouth/throat/digestive tract.  Would you chew on a tree branch and swallow a bunch of pieces?  No, because it would make you sick!  Same with us canines.

Buy us a chew toy or two (we have one that we highly recommend, so ask our owners about it) instead of allowing us to chew on wood/bark/mulch.  At the end of the day, we really don't know what we're chewing on, so you cannot trust us to steer clear of mulch....this means you have to take control of the situation and watch out for us yourselves (are you listening dog owner???)

While it may be an inconvenience to watch us around mulch/bark/wood, we are certain that it will be much more of an inconvenience to take us to the vet if we become sick and/or even worse, have a fatal occurance due to digestion of mulch/wood/bark.  You love us enough to make sure we that we're not the next subject of the mass email going around warning about toxic mulch digestion, don't you?  If you even hesitated with answering that question, you should not have and if you did, go back and provide the correct answer.

Enough 'barking' at you for now....go out and enjoy the fine weather today (we already have during our sunrise run!!)