Pet Doors Kill! Cat Flaps Under Investigation!

**Gingersnap** · 05-12-2009, 04:57 PM

Consumer Alert: Children's Deaths Tied to Pet Doors
Unknown Danger for Curious Tots Able to Squeeze Through Tiny Openings
By JOSEPH RHEE and BRIAN ROSS
May 12, 2009

More than a hundred children have died or been seriously injured in the last decade after squeezing through tiny pet doors and getting into swimming pools or other dangerous places, new research has found.

Pet doors have led to the deaths of more than 100 children.

"What we see is a picture that's emerging which shows that the pet door is a really serious hazard in a home that no one has really had on the radar screen," said Sean Kane, of Safety Research and Strategies.

At the request of trial lawyers, Kane combed through hundreds of coroner's reports and media accounts.

"It's a very laborious task to get through the documents and the data and the connections to find these incidents," said Kane. "But I think at the end of this we're going to find hundreds of incidents."

Kane compared the issue with pet doors to the discovery of the pattern of children hurting themselves in cribs.

Millions of pet owners have installed the convenient devices, which allow cats and dogs to come and go at will. Some of the openings measure 8 by 11 inches, no bigger than a sheet of paper.

"Parents don't appreciate that their children, even if they're bigger, can get through," said Dylan's father, Hank Didier, a Florida lawyer suing a pet door manufacturer for the family of two-year old Matthew Ranfone.

Matthew's mother Carol, of Spring Hill, Florida, found her son floating in the backyard swimming pool after he managed to get through a small pet door in the family home.

"I remember when the accident occurred," she recalled, "and thinking to myself, 'How in the world did he ever fit out of that door?'"

The PetSafe door in the Ranfone home contained no warning to parents of the possible danger on its package or product instructions.

She was outraged to learn that many children had died under similar circumstances before her son.

"It was just unbelievable to me that all of these accidents happened as a result of doggie doors and how come I wasn't informed," she told ABC News.

A hundred instances in 10 years time? I'm sorry but this is not a threat to the wellbeing of our nation's children. Surely, if you have a pool and a kid you can do the math and figure out that securing your pool is a pretty important part of the baby-proofing thing.

Scare of The Day

**Rockntractor** · 05-12-2009, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

A hundred instances in 10 years time? I'm sorry but this is not a threat to the wellbeing of our nation's children. Surely, if you have a pool and a kid you can do the math and figure out that securing your pool is a pretty important part of the baby-proofing thing.

Scare of The Day

The PetSafe door in the Ranfone home contained no warning to parents of the possible danger on its package or product instructions.

She was outraged to learn that many children had died under similar circumstances before her son.

"It was just unbelievable to me that all of these accidents happened as a result of doggie doors and how come I wasn't informed," she told ABC News.

If they placed a written warning on the door stating that any mammal including a human the size of the door could get through it what if the stupid parent couldn't read it? Would the door company be responsible for teaching the stupid parent how to read the stupid warning? This was sad until the parent opened her idiot mouth and placed responsibility on someone else. Then it became an argument for natural selection.

**lacarnut** · 05-12-2009, 05:27 PM

These leeches (trial lawyers) are always looking for someone to sue with deep pockets.

**Shannon** · 05-12-2009, 06:10 PM

Suing the pet door manufacturer? Seriously? Here's a crazy idea...be a responsible parent and keep an eye on your friggin kid.

**megimoo** · 05-12-2009, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

A hundred instances in 10 years time? I'm sorry but this is not a threat to the wellbeing of our nation's children. Surely, if you have a pool and a kid you can do the math and figure out that securing your pool is a pretty important part of the baby-proofing thing.

Scare of The Day

It's Old But on Topic :

Florida Man Dies After Getting Stuck in Girlfriend's Cat Door

A woman in Florida made a startling discovery over the weekend when she found her boyfriend stuck in her house’s cat door, News4Jax.com reported.

The girlfriend of Charles Tucker Jr., 33, had reportedly kicked him out of her St. Augustine home. Hours later, she found the man stuck in the small door and called police. When they arrived four minutes later, the man was dead, News4Jax.com reported.

"He's a big guy. I don't even know how he could fit through there," Tucker’s friend, Will Elliot told News4Jax.com. "Probably to get in and unlock the door. They said he had one arm through there and his head was caught in there like he was to reach up and unlock the door because there's no way he could fit through there."

Cops are currently awaiting autopsy results.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311198,00.html

**SPYDER** · 05-12-2009, 08:59 PM

I bought a "doggie door" for my dog to come in and out. Then a few weeks later the neighbors male cat figured out how to use the doggie door, came in and sprayed all over. I wonder if I would have a case for a cat using the doggie door and get some money????

**Gingersnap** · 05-12-2009, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by SPYDER

I bought a "doggie door" for my dog to come in and out. Then a few weeks later the neighbors male cat figured out how to use the doggie door, came in and sprayed all over. I wonder if I would have a case for a cat using the doggie door and get some money????

Why not? My neighbor had a dog door and one day she started screaming hysterically. It was summer and I heard her and went over. Coons had possessed her kitchen. Not sweet coons, either. She had PTSD for like 6 months. :D

**Rockntractor** · 05-12-2009, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

Why not? My neighbor had a dog door and one day she started screaming hysterically. It was summer and I heard her and went over. Coons had possessed her kitchen. Not sweet coons, either. She had PTSD for like 6 months. :D

You guys and all your acronyms. When do I get my secret decoder ring?

**Speedy** · 05-13-2009, 01:30 AM

When I was growing up, our dog was a huge St. Benard/German Shepherd cross. The door would get weakened too much if we put it there so we built the door into the side of the house. A neighbor saw what we were doing and asked about if we were worried someone might crawl through since anyone could fit through it.

My dad answered, "If you saw a door for a 150 pound dog built into the side of a house, would YOU crawl in there."