The Easy Out remote-controlled pet door opener was born out of the inventor’s desire to no longer need to get up every morning before dawn and walk down 2 flights of stairs to release the family’s puppy Daisy when she would awaken, realize she was lonely, and start crying.  Upon simply providing a 1/2 inch lateral motion with his hand to pull back his puppy’s crate door latch to open it, Daisy would immediately burst through the door past him, run up the stairs, and jump into the inventor’s spot in the bed.  The inventor would then have to climb back up the stairs in the dark, cold house, nudge Daisy enough out of his spot to fit back in the bed and try to go back to sleep.  One night it hit him that if he could rig up some type of gizmo to provide that little 1/2 inch lateral motion by remote control, he could stay in bed and not need to even get up at all!  So, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and that was how the Easy Out was born.  A friend suggested to the inventor that he should submit it to Design News magazine for consideration to be published in their monthly feature on reader inventions, and it was published later that year in 2005.  It then won a reader-voted contest as their best reader-submitted invention that year.  It was later featured in three more articles as it evolved over the years.  A first US patent was issued for it in 2008, and a 2nd US patent later.  These positive experiences spurred the inventor to wonder if it would be feasible to produce and sell it to the public so that others could benefit from it.  After lots of learning, effort, and challenges, the inventor finally turned that dream into a reality.  The result was the original product you see in the earlier videos on this website, and in this picture of that inventor holding his first packaged version of it:

The inventor and his beautiful wife Nita currently share their home with a sweet pup named Cubby.  You will find Cubby and their beloved now-deceased beagle Daisy in the videos on this website. By modifying its design so it can be plugged into an AC outlet, the product evolved into the current DELUXE version that provides much more robust and reliable performance and can be activated by your smart phone from anywhere with a Wi-Fi smart plug or via a pre-set timer, while still retaining its battery capabilities for applications where there is no way to plug it in.  Then we added a “Deluxe Plus” version that includes a Wi-Fi smart plug with each order, to allow smartphone and timer use without purchasing anything separately. Over the years, it has been used literally around the world by zoos, humane societies, K9 trainers, mobility-challenged folks, chicken farmers, magicians, animal rescue groups, hunters, and even escape room operators!  But of course, its main benefit is helping regular pet families, and the inventor continues to feel proud every time he hears them share stories about the many different ways their daily lives with their pets have improved, far beyond just being able to stay in bed longer 🙂 … and the fun of seeing your puppy or dog run to you so joyfully when you release them with it is still as cool as it was way back in 2005!