RAGS'S CHOICE

Growing up in the late 1960's in Simsbury,Connecticut we had a next door neighbor who lived in a white split level house. The father of that family worked at a local science center which catered mostly to school age kids to learn about some of the "wonders" of science and the world we live in. This family had a sheep dog as a pet named "Rags".

Rags was a middle sized dog with black and white shaggy fur. The neighbor used to leave sometimes for weekend trips and leave Rags tied up on their outdoor deck. My Mom, brother and sisters used to play with and feed Rags when the neighbor wasn't at home.

Over time, Rags was spending more and more of his time at our house instead of next door. Rags was a smart dog who seemed to know some English. Rags knew his name, but also if you said "Rags, do ya wanna go outside?"; Rags would get all excited and run to the door, then run to you, then back to the door. Eventually, Rags stopped going back to the house next door and become our family dog. The neighbor never said, "Hey,give me back my Rags". He just bought another dog and that was that.

So, Rags became master of his destiny, that was Rags's choice.