A Not-So-Bitter Outcome by K. Gwendolyn
After losing two of her best friends to anti-freeze poisoning, 11-year-old Haley Ham decided she was going to do something to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else’s best friend. Haley’s best friends were Sam and Jessie and they did everything together. “Sam was like my brother, says Haley. “And he was so sweet and always there for me.” Jessie was a neighborhood dog who followed Haley everywhere she went. The three were a close bunch until one day Haley woke up and Sam was really sick. “The vet tried giving him the antidote for the anti-freeze,” Haley says. “Four days later he died.” The day after Sam died, Haley found Jessie in a bad state too, but it was too late. Haley says the vet told her and her mom Jessie’s kidneys were already shutting down and there was nothing that could be done, so he was euthanized. At just 11-years-old, Haley Ham became a crusader for animals
Anti-freeze tastes sweet to animals, but it is in fact a very deadly poison and it doesn’t take much to kill a dog or cat. An estimated 10,000 pets die each year in the U.S. from anti-freeze poisoning. Haley wasn’t about to let the issue go, however. She started writing government officials and even created an online petition to rally support. Haley says through research for a 4-H project, she found out there’s a bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) that can be added to anti-freeze that makes it taste bad to animals and children. How did this 11-year-old even know where to begin? “I did a lot of research and I’d already done a petition to save our county fair,” says Haley. “I contacted all the state senators and representatives until I got a response.” Haley says she received form letters from all her government officials except one, State Senator Raymond Finney. Finney finally put the gears in motion to try and get Tennessee’s law changed.
Sam (above) and Jessie (below) were Haley’s best friends until someone poisoned them with antifreeze
The Haley Ham Act of 2008 unanimously passed the state Senate and passed with an overwhelming majority in the state House. The bill is now waiting to be signed into law by the governor and Haley will be attending the ceremony. Even though it costs more to add the bittering agent, antifreeze manufacturers favor legislation such as this to give them liability protection. They have been trying to get a law passed at the federal level for many years. Environmentalists have been fighting legislation because the effects of the bittering agent on the environment are not yet known. Haley has been given awards by P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and The Humane Society of the United States. “I’m definitely a more headstrong person because of this,” says Haley of her efforts to get this bill passed. Denatonium Benzoate is required in antifreeze sold in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. Legislation is pending in Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. North Carolina lawmakers are not currently considering any antifreeze legislation.
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