Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Wauwatosa teen takes fight against animal cruelty to Washington

 

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A middle schooler from Wauwatosa is doing something a lot of adults might not know how to do. She's lobbying lawmakers to pass a bill that would end animal testing. She started on the state level here in Wisconsin, but now she's taking her fight to Washington, DC.

Four-year-old Doby, the chihuahua, has a big personality.

"She's sweet, but then she's also a bit of a troublemaker," Abby W. said.

The rescue dog is one of the pets Abby has grown up with.

"Good girl," she said as Doby danced on hind legs, eating peanut butter.

Her dad, Dave W., tells a story about the time Abby realized there were more animals that needed help.

"Ironically, we were on a cruise, at an all you can eat buffet, and she was eating a cheeseburger. And it just hit her -- all the waste, all the food, all the animals that went into what we were seeing," he said.

That was two years ago. Abby is now an activist against animal cruelty.

"When you think of animal testing, you think of rats and mice, and all that kind of stuff. There's like, cows, and dogs and cats and a bunch of other animals that are being used," she said.

Abby started asking her mom, Dana W., to buy products with symbols marking them cruelty-free.

"She's really good about politely saying, hey, when you go to the store, how about you pick up this instead of that," Dana explained.

This summer, Abby raised money for the Beagle Freedom Project with a lemonade stand.

"It's really neat to see her dedicated and being so proactive about this," Dana said.

But she still wanted to go bigger.

Then I contacted State Rep. Robyn Vining, originally, about putting a ban on products tested on animals in Wisconsin," Abby said.

She started doing research for that meeting, and was encouraged to look into H.R. 5399 - federal legislation that would restrict animal testing for all kinds of products.

"It felt really good. It felt, I guess, like powerful and like that I'm making a difference," she said with a smile.

At just 13, Abby is now lobbying congressmembers in Washington.

"It's not something we're driving at all. It's purely something she's driving," Dave said. "To see her take that initiative and just to be a quiet leader, like she is, she's not getting in anyone's face about it, but she's walking the walk."

H.R. 5399, which is known as the Humane Cosmetics Act, is still in committee in Congress. With new members just sworn in, Abby is hoping the bill can gain some momentum.

You can read the legislation here.

And to find out more about the Beagle Freedom Project, click here.

You can also learn about cruelty-free products by clicking here. 

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].