Beware Of Doggie Door Drownings As Summer Months Approach

It can happen in a split second. Your child slips out of sight before slipping into danger. "My husband started CPR and I called 911," Carol Ranfone of Orlando tearfully remembers the horror in 2006 when her 2-year-old son, Matthew, crawled through the home's doggie door and fell into the pool. "I jumped in the pool and grabbed him, brought him to the side and I mean he had no pulse he wasn't breathing, he was blue." Heartbreaking tragedies like this are common right here in the Valley. Since 1993, there have been 26 doggy door drowning or near drowning, according to Dr. Timothy Flood from the Arizona Health Department.

A few deadly incidents:

August 2008
2-year-old boy
Sean drowned after crawling through the pet door and fell in his family's swimming pool.

September 2008
1 year old boy
Family members told authorities they suspected Shane crawled through a doogie door to get to the backyard pool.

August 2005
3-year-old boy
Arrianan made her way into into the backyard through a dog door and fell into the family swimming pool unnoticed.

"What price do you put on your child's safety," questioned Lori Schmidt, President of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona. She is an expert in doggie door hazards in Maricopa County and teaches parents and kids the importance of knowing how to swim and CPR and stresses supervision is not enough.

"So you have to have the additional layers of protection. Put your barriers in place. That means putting you pool fence up making sure they don't have access to that. Putting door alarms on your doors and that can mean putting an alarm on you doggie door as well," Schmidt warned.

A new lock by PetSafe could close the doggy door trap. The company claims the "Electronic Smart Door" technology is controlled by an RFID collar key to allow only your dog or cat entrance. PetSafe advertises that the "Smart Door" will control access in both directions, "in" and "out", activated by that key with range up to 3 feet from the door. Peace of mind Ranfone, founder of PetAccessDangers.org, wishes she had. "Why haven't there been any changes in the product? Why hasn't anyone notified somehow given a warning that things like this could happen?

Ranfone is now suing the manufacturer of her pet door for her son's death. The suit claims the company failed to provide any warning or protection measures. "We had two dogs and a cat at the time. I didn't see it as a door for children to use, I guess. I mean, I just put the doggie door in for my pets to use and never thought there was risk associated with it," Ranfone explained. She claims she never worried her kids might get through the door because it was mounted into a sliding glass door behind a sofa. "No, we seriously just purchased the door for our pets, for our pets to be able to access the outdoors and be able to come back in. Never entered my mind in one instance, no."

Meanwhile, the manufacturer of Ranfone's pet door said it bears absolutely no responsibility. Ranfone's attorney, Hank Didier, said nationwide his firm has identified at least a hundred drowning or near drowning events. "What we've found is that most parents don't appreciate that buying this product is going to put their family at risk. If you don't appreciate a risk then obviously you can't take steps to protect yourself or your family."

Didier said he is shocked that despite the fact they've now informed the company of numerous deaths, they continue to take no steps to even look or examine it. "Their attitude has been that we sell a product for pets. And if a child uses it it's a misuse issue and the parents, if this happens, it's completely on the parents." An attitude Ranfone wrangled with. "Just like any parent you blame yourself anytime your child get hurts, you know? And there was a lot of blame there was a lot of anger. I guess I was probably in a state of shock for a lot of the time." Ranfone said after doing a lot of internet research on doggie door drowning deaths she now rejects the company's claim.

"They don't put any warnings or anything on any of the doors. I'm sure there's many people in this country who buy these doors for the same reason as I, for their pets. And don't consider their grandchildren going through it, or don't consider their own kids going through it," said Ranfone.

To see ABC's full video or slideshow click here.