Rags

First Dog of the First Division

Inspired by the remarkable true story

A true story of courage, loyalty, and the dog who carried a soldier home from war.

Watch Proof of Concept View Investor Presentation

The motion picture

He came from the streets of Paris.
He became a soldier of the First Division.

France, 1918. When American signalman Jimmy Donovan rescues a scruffy stray from the streets of Paris, neither can know how much they will come to depend upon one another.

Named Rags and adopted by the First Division, the little terrier proves an extraordinary battlefield messenger—carrying vital communications through shellfire, gas and shattered ground. But when the war ends, both man and dog discover that coming home is not the same as leaving the battlefield behind.

Based on the remarkable true story, Rags is an epic and deeply human tale of courage, loyalty and the bond between a soldier and the dog who refused to leave his side.

Donovan kneeling beside Rags while repairing a broken field communication wire.

A wet young Rags looking up from a dark hiding place.

Part I

The Stray

A lost dog finds a soldier with troubles of his own.

Rags finding a severed field wire in the mud.

Part II

The Doughboy

In the fields of France, Rags becomes a messenger, a warning system—and one of the men.

Rags lying on a hospital bed with one clouded eye.

Part III

The Veteran

When the guns fall silent, Rags must learn to live with what the war left behind.

Rags and Donovan lying wounded on adjacent stretchers after battle.

“Some wounds come home unseen.”

Proof of concept

A first glimpse of the film we intend to make.

Created to explore the visual language, emotional tone and battlefield scale of Rags, this proof of concept introduces the world of the film and the bond at its heart.

Watch the proof of concept →

Historical black-and-white photograph of Sergeant George Hickman kneeling with Rags.

Sergeant George Hickman with Rags.

The true story

The dog behind the legend

Rags was a real battlefield dog of the United States First Division. Found in Paris during the First World War, he became a messenger, mascot and companion to the soldiers who served beside him.

His ability to carry communications through shellfire, locate damaged field lines and warn men of approaching danger earned him a place in the history of the Fighting First—and in the affections of those who came home.

Wounded during the Meuse–Argonne Offensive, Rags survived the war and returned to the United States, where his courage made him one of the most celebrated military dogs of his generation.

The screenplay is inspired by recorded events while dramatising the people and relationships surrounding Rags’ life.

Historical black-and-white photograph of Rags standing on an artillery piece beside Sergeant George Hickman. — Rags with Sergeant George Hickman during his years with the First Division.

Why Rags

Not simply a heroic animal story.

We were drawn to Rags because his story reveals something profoundly human. He shared the danger, fear and loyalty of the men around him. He carried their messages, warned them of death approaching and remained beside them when instinct told every living thing to run.

But the heart of the film lies beyond the battlefield. Rags is also a story about memory, grief and the difficult journey home—a story of wounded soldiers, families learning how to understand them, and one small dog who could not be told that the war was over.

Rags is conceived as grown-up family entertainment in the tradition of classical Hollywood storytelling: emotionally direct, visually ambitious and grounded in historical reality.