Man's Best Friend Lobbies Congress

July 19, 2005 — -- Well-groomed, ears back and tails wagging, a determined doggy dozen stormed Capitol Hill on Monday, seeking support for a Senate bill that would bitter the taste of engine coolant and antifreeze in hopes of protecting the 10,000 dogs killed and 1,400 children sickened by the tasty toxin each year.

In a town that thrives on access, this unusual band of Washington power brokers -- including a cocker spaniel, a dachshund, a golden retriever and four Capitol Hill Police K-9 German shepherds -- didn't pound the pavement for days or even hours, hoping to attract support for S. 1110, the "Engine Coolant and Antifreeze Bittering Act of 2005," they simply walked in the front doors of Congress and stayed.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Product Safety and Insurance, and Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., a co-sponsor of the legislation, came promptly, canoodling with the canines as the television cameras captured every roll, bark and whimper.

In the historic Russell Senate Office Building, in which hearings into the Titanic, the mafia and Watergate have been held, the dogs, several outfitted with matching scarves from the Doris Day Animal League, lined up for a solidarity march down the hall for a hearing on their bill.

Although the line weaved at times, the message was clear: these dogs know they cannot resist the surprisingly appealing soda pop taste of engine coolant and antifreeze spilled in garages and on driveways across the country; they need the big dog -- the federal government -- to step in.

"We hope antifreeze becomes unpalatable to animals and children," Allen proclaimed at the onset of the 54-minute hearing on the subject.

Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-N.M., who lost her golden retriever Cujo after the family pet accidentally ingested antifreeze, testified in support of adding denatonium benzoate, or DB, an extremely bitter-tasting but non-toxic substance, to antifreeze and engine coolant sold in the United States.