Flo control

Becca pointed me to the coolest waste of time ever on a pet. Flo Control is a cat door that uses image recognition to check if the cat has an animal in its mouth before opening. If kitty is bringing a friend, the door doesn't open. The page also has some great image captures of other animals trying to use the cat door to get in.

I actually remember this from a while ago--at least a couple of years. I'm currently trying to adapt the idea to smell. See--the beagles don't bring in dead things. They roll in dead things. And when a dog has rolled in dead things, you do not want said dog snuggling up under your covers. So since I heard about this cat thing I've felt sure that there must be some kind of scent-based equivalent. I'm sure beagle and other hunting dog owners would be a rapt audience.

You would need to use a color camera, and if there's a green miasma radiating from the dog, you don't let it in....

I actually just recently read an article about a device like that, the mini-nose. Now you just need to hook it up to a doggy door (and maybe an automated dog washer) and you're all set.

I would pay to see the first time the dog washer fires off and catches the dog unaware.