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JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Ben Boots' boxer, Bo, bites bark with the best of them.
"Sometimes when we walk him he sniffs the grass and everything," said Boots.
Usually, it's just innocent snacking, but Bo's veterinarian, Bryan Flood is warning his owner to watch out for a danger in the yard.
"It's mulch made from the cocoa bean. It's a shell that still has the smell and the attractiveness of the chocolate plant," said Dr. Flood.
It's called cocoa mulch. It's sold under several brand names. The chocolate aroma makes it popular with people and pets.
However, most pet owners know that chocolate is not good for cats and dogs.
A chemical in chocolate, theobromine, makes animals sick. Some even die. The deadly chemical is very potent in cocoa mulch. Allowing your pet to eat just two ounces of the mulch would be equivalent to feeding it seven chocolate bars.
"The toxicity is of the potency of our cooking cocoa, not of out milk chocolate," said Dr. Bryan Flood.
Some suppliers on the First Coast sell it without warning customers of its dangers.
Some pet owners learn the effects too late. "We have them every spring, puppies eating mulch. That will increase, if cocoa mulch is used," Dr. Flood added.
Symptoms include vomiting and discomfort. If you believe your pet has ingested cocoa mulch, contact your vet.
This summer, Ben Boots will be on the lookout for the bark that's worse than Bo's bite.
"He's like my son," said Boots.