ohmidog!

In honor of his Shiba Inu, 12-year-old Aaron Coash is lobbying the Kansas legislature to pass a law aimed at stemming the number of dogs killed by antifreeze poisoning.

With the help of the Humane Society, he’s proposing a law that would require all antifreeze sold in in the state contain a chemical that turns its sweet taste bitter.

He’s calling it Nikko’s law, in honor of his dog, who died last month.

Antifreeze poisoning kills an estimated 10,000 animals and more than a thousand children each year, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Aaron said for the first time in six years, Nikko didn’t greet him when he came home from school one day last month.

“The doctor said without a doubt it was antifreeze poisoning,” Aaron told Fox News in Kansas City.

Aaron said Kansas Senator Carolyn McGinn has offered to help with the cause.

“Nikko was a champion, so I want to be a champion,” he explained. You can sign a petition in support of Nikko’s law at his website

Other states that have passed similar legislation are Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Ethylene glycol’s sweet smell and taste makes antifreeze and coolant attractive to animals and children. It costs manufacturers an estimated additional two to three cents per gallon to add the bittering agent.

Virginia last week became the seventh state to require antifreeze be spiked with a bitter tasting agent that keeps pets from consuming the toxic liquid.

About 10,000 pets a year, lured by its sweet taste, are fatally poisoned by antifreeze, according to the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Kirk Cox, a Republican who introduced the bill in January, after a constituent told him of two dogs on her postal route that had fallen victim to antifreeze.

Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Maine and California have similar laws, according to Zootoo.com.

The law calls for all imported car engine coolants/antifreeze that have more than 10 percent ethylene glycol also contain denatonium benzoate, a notoriously bitter, but otherwise harmless chemical compound.

“For a 25-pound dog, it can take just as much as a few licks for this stuff to take effect,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

Oregon first passed a law to make antifreeze more unappealing nearly 15 years ago.