A pet door or pet flap (also referred to in more specific terms, such as cat flap or dog door a.k.a. doggie door) is a small portal in a wall, window or human door to allow pets to enter and exit a house (or other structure) on their own without needing a person to open the door. Originally simple holes, the modern form is a hinged and often spring-loaded panel or flexible flap, and some are electronically controlled. They offer a degree of protection against wind, rain, and larger-bodied intruders entering the dwelling. Similar hatches can let dogs through fences at stiles. A related concept is the pet gate, which is easy for humans to open but acts as a secure pet barrier.
Read more about Pet Door: Purpose, Features, History, Electronic Pet Doors, Patio Door Pet Flaps, Dog Stiles, Pet Gates
Famous quotes containing the words pet and/or door:
“Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed....”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
“Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the lovliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway.”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)