- This is it, Nick.
We're down to the final two teams.
First up is a canine Olympian who's got more gold medals
than an entire Olympic village.
From Salem, Ohio, it's Team Simon.
MIKE GARBER: Hi.
I'm Patrolman Mike Garber.
I work for the city of Salem, Ohio.
This is my partner, K9 Simon.
We've been on the road approximately three years.
Meeting him was a pretty cool experience.
The defining moment was when I took him for a walk.
We kind of locked eyes for a second.
And he fell in love with me, and I fell in love with him
like right at first sight.
Me and Simon are going to crush the competition.
We've trained harder.
We've trained longer.
And we're going to win.
[beeping]
CURT MENEFEE: First up, Team Simon.
[buzzer]
And team Simon is off.
First obstacle is the Knock Down.
NICK WHITE: Oh, looks like he's going off-leash.
He's going to get him with a good running start.
Beautiful.
Nice high up there.
And then they're going to go through the window.
These police dogs do this all the time,
jump through car windows.
CURT MENEFEE: Then into the Spiderweb.
Up!
CURT MENEFEE: They try and simulate thickets
with that 1,100 feet of bungee.
NICK WHITE: Simon is actually waiting at the other end
of the Spiderweb.
He's like, Officer Garber.
Hurry up.
We're trying to win this thing.
CURT MENEFEE: And now it's the Low Crawl.
NICK WHITE: The Low Crawl, it's what these dogs do--
crawling under houses, apprehending suspects.
Nothing new.
Breezed right through it.
And now he's going to the Boxes Up.
CURT MENEFEE: Officer Garber showing
Simon exactly what to do.
He's making sure his dog stays focused.
Now, they crawl through the Ductwork.
Here.
Up, up.
Crawl.
NICK WHITE: It looks like Simon has a little bit
of apprehension there.
CURT MENEFEE: Out of Ductwork.
Now a minute and 6.
Under the Door Breach.
Simon!
CURT MENEFEE: Needs to grab the ball,
pull it to open the first of two doors.
NICK WHITE: He seems confused right here.
Remember, he was a little distracted at the Fire
Escape in round one.
CURT MENEFEE: And these ball tugs are very similar.
So he's distracted once again.
NICK WHITE: He just went through a lot
of mental and physical stimulation.
So it's interesting to see if that's playing
a part now in round three.
Here, Simon. Here.
CURT MENEFEE: And you saw Officer Garber open
up the door after 30 seconds.
He's allowed to do that if the dog has not done it yet.
NICK WHITE: It looks like officer
Garber is having trouble getting Simon focused on the door.
CURT MENEFEE: This is where the Dog House feels
more like the house of pain.
NICK WHITE: Officer Garber comes in
with the assist on door number two,
adding another 30 seconds to their time.
CURT MENEFEE: Now, they will try to apprehend the suspect,
release, and get back to the finish line.
[growling]
Platz.
Platz!
Here!
Simon, help, help, help!
NICK WHITE: Great job by Officer Garber calling for Simon
to help, and it worked.
CURT MENEFEE: Team Simon finished with a time
of 2 minutes, 47.35 seconds.
Up next is our goggle-wearing, adventure-loving paramedic
K9 team.
From Utah, it's Team Rony.
BRAD LARSEN: I'm Deputy Brad Larsen.
I work for the Davis County Sheriff's
Office in northern Utah.
This is my partner, K9 Rony.
Rony wears his goggles for multiple reasons--
to protect from dust, or sticks, or anything else
that may damage his eyes while at work.
Plus, they make him look cool.
He's my best friend.
And I wouldn't trade what we have for the world.
With Rony by my side, there's no way that we can lose.
[dog barks]
Oh, really?
[beeping]
[buzzer]
CURT MENEFEE: And there goes Team Rony.
First up is Knock Down.
And that 135-pound door comes right down.
They're off to that great start with the Knock Down.
They get through the window, then into the Spiderweb,
approaching 20 seconds.
NICK WHITE: I don't foresee any issues right here, Curt.
Team Rony track in Utah.
They're used to fighting through brush.
They're used to fighting through trees.
Rony actually apprehended a suspect that
was fleeing into the mountains.
CURT MENEFEE: No doubt that guy still has nightmares
about the goggle dog.
They've got to climb over these two 2-foot walls
to get to the other side.
And right now, they're struggling
with the bungee cords.
NICK WHITE: Oh, no.
He is caught in the cords.
And finally, they're onto Low Crawl.
CURT MENEFEE: And they've yet to approach the 1-minute mark.
NICK WHITE: They almost came through in tandem right next
to each other.
Love seeing that.
And now they're on to the Boxes Up.
CURT MENEFEE: 42 stacked boxes there to get
them up to level number two.
NICK WHITE: Just over a minute.
And if they can keep this stride up,
they're going to be on their way to a victory.
CURT MENEFEE: Through the ducts.
NICK WHITE: It looks like he's having
a little bit of an issue.
CURT MENEFEE: Better get their ducts in a row.
NICK WHITE: There he goes.
He had a little bit of an issue making the transition
from two to three.
CURT MENEFEE: Yeah, but it's going to cost them time.
NICK WHITE: Get through it.
No problem on the third one.
And here is where Simon and Officer Garber
had a little bit of a hang up.
Let's see if they have the same issue.
CURT MENEFEE: He needs to grab the ball and open up the door.
He's got that part down.
NICK WHITE: Oh, he let go.
He was so close.
He had it with inches.
CURT MENEFEE: Yeah, when you bite the ball,
the ball has got to stay bit. NICK WHITE: Yeah.
[laughs]
CURT MENEFEE: Come on, Rony.
Pull it.
NICK WHITE: All he's got to do is
just pull it a couple inches.
Is that acceptable?
CURT MENEFEE: He needs to get it to the air--
NICK WHITE: There. CURT MENEFEE: There you go.
NICK WHITE: I feel like that's good.
There we go.
CURT MENEFEE: Oh, no.
They've lost a lot of time here.
But now they've made it up.
NICK WHITE: It's all about the apprehension.
Can he call his dog off, get a quick recall in?
If so, he's won the title of "Top Dog."
[grunts]
CURT MENEFEE: So he's got the bite part taken care of.
Will he let go and get back to the finish line?
Here!
NICK WHITE: So far, he's given multiple commands.
Again, as I said with Officer Garber, it's to be expected.
BRAD LARSEN: Rony!
Los!
NICK WHITE: Will this be his downfall?
And he gets back in time.
Amazing!
CURT MENEFEE: All hail the goggles.