Sunday, February 12, 2012

Saving man's best friend is a mission for one Kansas boy.

Nearly six years ago, Aaron Coash and his family traveled to Texas to pick up his new best friend.

"I had a choice of about 3 dogs," said Coash.

Out of those three dogs, Nikko, a shiba inu, was chosen.

"I had certain rules that I wanted in a dog, and he's the only one that really matched it," said Coash.

Since then, Coash has been training Nikko to be a show dog, one who has won dozens of awards.

"What we were best at, was showmanship, which is me presenting him," said Coash.

On January 19, Nikko became curious, and ventured away from home.

"We went to look for him and about an hour later he came home," said Coash.

Three days later, the family noticed Nikko was not acting right.

Coash says the next day, he could barely walk.

"The doctor said without a doubt, he had drank anti-freeze," said Coash.

About 10,000 animals and 1,400 children are poisoned each year from anti-freeze, after drinking the sweet smelling and tasting liquid.

"Now, I'm on a mission," said Coash.

That mission is Nikko's law.

It is a bill Coash, along with the Humane Society of the United States wrote for the Kansas Legislature.

"It would force manufacturers to put a bittering agent into anti-freeze, so no one else has to lose their best friend like I did," said Coash. "There's only one Nikko."

Hopefully soon, Coash hopes there will also be a law reflecting the importance of this champion's life.

The extra chemical would cost about 2 cents more for every dollar of anti-freeze.

Coash submitted the bill Friday, and is now waiting to hear back from state senators.

To learn more about Nikko's Law, or to sign Coash's petition, click here.