A dog breeder currently has 9 breeding dogs. 6 of the dogs have exactly 1 littermate, and 3 of the dogs have exactly 2 littermates. If 2 dogs are selected at random, what is the probability W that both selected dogs are NOT littermates?
Choose the most appropriate option
A) 1 / 6  B) 2 / 9  C) 5 / 6  D) 7 / 9  E) 8 / 9

Rationale: we have three pairs of dogs for the 6 with exactly one littermate , and one triplet , with each having exactly two littermates . so , in fact there are two types of dogs : those with one littermate - say a , and the others with two littermates - b . work with probabilities : choosing two dogs , we can have either one dog of type b or none ( we can not have two dogs both of type b ) . the probability of choosing one dog of type b and one of type a is 3 / 9 * 6 / 8 * 2 = 1 / 2 ( the factor of 2 for the two possibilities ba and ab ) . the probability of choosing two dogs of type a which are not littermates is 6 / 9 * 4 / 8 = 1 / 3 ( choose one a , then another a which is n ' t the previous one ' s littermate ) . the required probability is 1 / 2 + 1 / 3 = 5 / 6 . find the probability for the complementary event : choose aa or bb . probability of choosing two dogs of type a who are littermates is 6 / 9 * 1 / 8 = 1 / 12 . probability of choosing two dogs of type b ( who necessarily are littermates ) is 3 / 9 * 2 / 8 = 1 / 12 . again , we obtain 1 - ( 1 / 12 + 1 / 12 ) w = 5 / 6 . answer : c
Answer: C