A pet door can often represent a compromise between convenience for the dog and a homeowner’s desire for security, energy efficiency and aesthetics.
For Scottsdale inventor Martin Diamond, it became a three-year engineering problem that led to a start-up.
Diamond is the founder and inventor behind Pawport, a new smart pet door system that officially entered the market late last year after more than three years of design, testing and refinement.
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The product aims to replace the familiar vinyl flap or swinging wood door with a steel-framed, app-controlled door that integrates into a home’s broader smart-home system.
Diamond didn’t want a pet door that looked like an afterthought or felt like a security risk, especially given the possibility of four-legged – and sometimes, two-legged, intruders.
The idea for Pawport came from Diamond’s own dog, Bruce – a 105-pound canine that frequently moved between the house and the yard before he passed away a few years ago.
Traditional pet doors, Diamond found, were poorly insulated, visually intrusive and offered little protection from animals such as coyotes, bobcats and snakes common in the Southwest.
“Here in Scottsdale,” he says on his website, “wildlife abounds. Coyotes, bobcats, javelinas (wild pigs), and rattlesnakes are plentiful, and every year there are multiple reports of these wild animals (not to mention scorpions and spiders) entering homes through pet doors. Not exactly a morning coffee experience we want.
“Similar risks exist everywhere, albeit with different animals, and everything from burglars to alligators, raccoons to deer, and many other creatures have been reported entering homes through pet doors around the country.”
That frustration eventually turned into a design challenge: could a pet door be as secure, durable and intentional as a front door while still giving pets independent access?
The result is Pawport’s Smart Pet Door, built from powder-coated steel and aircraft-grade aluminum and secured by dual steel deadbolts.
Rather than a swinging flap, the door opens only when it detects an authorized pet wearing a lightweight electronic tag on its collar.
He assembled a team to engineer the door, test materials, refine the locking system and build the software platform that controls it.
The company spent more than three years iterating before launching sales in November 2025.
Unlike many smart-home products, Pawport was designed to retrofit over existing pet doors without professional installation. For homes without a pet door, the company also sells complete systems that install into walls, doors or glass panels.
Once installed, the system connects to a mobile app that allows homeowners to manage the time the dog is allowed outside, track pet activity, control access remotely and integrate the door with voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri and Google.
The system can also automatically lock during severe weather, operate during power outages with an optional battery pack and draw supplemental power from an optional solar panel.
Pet technology is a fast-growing industry, but Diamond believes Pawport stands apart because it focuses as much on the homeowner as the pet.
Traditional pet doors, he said, tend to be “purely utilitarian,” while many smart alternatives sacrifice durability for electronics.
Pawport instead is a permanent home fixture. The door is offered in three sizes and 14 finishes across multiple design collections meant to complement modern interiors, including textured facades that mimic wood grain.
Pricing for the Smart Pet Door starts at $699, placing it firmly in the premium category – a deliberate decision, Diamond said, to reflect materials, security and long-term durability.
Pawport officially launched sales late last year and is now focused on scaling production, building brand awareness and expanding its customer base.
The company has already drawn national attention, earning multiple “Best of CES” awards for its design and functionality.
In addition to the core door system, Pawport is expanding its ecosystem with accessories.
They include a solar panel, a reinforced pet collar designed to optimize tag placement, a heavy-duty exterior mat and an adjustable ramp for older or mobility-limited pets.
Diamond sees the company as offering a a product that no longer forces a compromise between a pet’s needs and those of his or her master.
“No more bugs waltzing in. No more indoor air escaping outside. No more wildlife entering. And no more burglars crawling through,” he says on his website.
“We set out to create an uncompromising product of the highest quality and materials that your family can enjoy for many years, so good girls and boys like Bruce can be free to come and go as they please, with you always in control and always aware of their activity.”
Information: pawport.com
