Before college, Dutch and Neil had few interests outside of football. One of those rare outside interests, however, was maintaining a makeshift "zoo" and "museum" that they had in the loft of the carriage house in back of their home. In one of the rented houses where the Reagans lived, RWR finds in the attic a collection of birds' eggs and butterflies. He views them as "gateways to the mysterious." They carried the "scent of wind on peaks, pine needles in the rain, and visions of sunrise on the desert."
Thier father had given them an old display case and they filled it with the collection of birds' eggs and butterflies. In the summer, for feed, they had to pick tomato worms and potato bugs from their father's vegetable gardens. One year he also gave them each a set of prize pigeons, which multiplied quickly. They also raised rabbits and persuaded a friend who had goats to join them in putting on tent circuses along the side of the house. Using the "zoo," they joined with a friend who had goats to put on a small circus. However, when the friend and Neil decided to go out of the circus business and into the meat and poultry business using their "zoo" animals, Dutch withdrew. "He couldn't go for killing," said Neil.