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Notice of mulch hazard to pets

Published (4/3/2009)
By Lee Ann Schutz
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Terry Hall hopes that others don’t have to suffer the loss of a pet by placing what appears to be harmless mulch on their property.

Moose, Hall’s 105-pound healthy chocolate Labrador retriever, died suddenly after ingesting cocoa bean shell mulch. Since that time, Hall has waged a campaign of consumer awareness, hoping for a notice requirement to be placed on the product that unprocessed cocoa bean shell mulch could be poisonous to pets, and provide a toll-free phone number for the Animal Poison Control Center.

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) sponsors HF1306 that would provide the notice.

“We are simply asking that you make consumers aware of this. ... It is an avoidable situation,” Hall told the House Commerce and Labor Committee March 31.

In a letter to the committee, Moose’s veterinarian said toxicology tests showed a significant presence of caffeine and theobromine from the mulch in the dog’s system and determined it was the likely cause of death.

The bill would require a posted notice wherever the product is sold warning that ingestion of the mulch could be poisonous to pets.

Rep. Cy Thao (DFL-St. Paul) cautioned that this could lead to placing labels on just about every product that could be harmful to pets.

Hall countered, “I think there is a bigger issue; there are a lot of folks out there that don’t know the product is dangerous.”

The bill now awaits action on the House floor. The companion, SF122, sponsored by Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls), awaits action by the full Senate.

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