Re: Doggie doors

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

<stuff snipped>

> I would be surprised if no one has used the injected pet chips as a way to
> control the door rather than the magnet. A magnet operated door is a
> security concern with large pets and small burglars. When I kept pets, I
> preferred dogs big enough to make a new door wherever they wished. ;)

That's a darn good idea - the problem is that the readers are so expensive -
at least that's what my vet tells me.  The one I see listed in "it fell off
a truck" Ebay (item number 120035993005) is selling for $225.  Searching
other sites reveal that they seem to all sell for $200 or more.  For cheap,
I don't think you can beat a cannibalized laser level, a simple photodiode
circuit and a reflective collar.  Heck, it might even be possible to barcode
the collar and read it using a handscanner reader.

If you could get a used microchip reader cheap or build one, it would
provide a pretty unique ID to ensure varmints didn't also use the door.  I
had a squirrel trapped in the house for an entire workday.  Those little
fuc|<ers can do a hell of a lot of damage in eight hours.  I wouldn't want
any system that would ever allow anything other than the pet in question in
through the door.

The only problem I see with a laser/reflective collar setup I proposed is
that animal's eyes are highly reflective.  If they looked at the beam they
might either go blind or set off the detector erroneously.  What I really
want is a pet airlock where I can examine the contents of the tube before
opening the inner door!  If the weight and other characteristics don't
match, keep the door closed.  Might even come in handy if you have a taste
for squirrel meat.  Just lock both doors when a strange animal enters.
Anesthesia or other gas could be added as a feature.  What was it the
Russkies used in that terrorist siege?  Fentanyl gas?  It sure was effective
in knocking out the people that it didn't kill.  :-)

There was some guy on the net that was ridding himself of a squirrel
overpopulation by tying valium-laced bacon to trees.  A few hours later he
would scoop up the unconscious squirrels and the base of the trees and
relocate them.  I would have arranged for a more permanent move but then
again, I have a long-standing grudge against them.

--
Bobby G.