- Leading off tonight,
Georgia, our country boys, team Eddy, with K9
Eddy and Deputy Todd Thompson.
TODD THOMPSON: I'm Deputy Todd Thompson.
I'm from Whitfield County Sheriff's
Office in the state of Georgia.
This is my K9 partner, Eddy.
When I met Eddy, he was 12 months old.
Hey, buddy.
What are you doing, man?
I owe the fact of me being a dog handler
now to a very good friend of mine and a mentor of mine.
And his name is Lieutenant Fran Rice.
Unfortunately, he's battling cancer.
Eddy is wearing Lieutenant Rice's badge
throughout this competition.
This is just a way of showing him how much I appreciate what
he's done for me and showing his family a sense
of gratitude and an honor.
I'm here to win this competition for my community
and my department.
And also, I'd like to dedicate this to Lieutenant Fran Rice.
Curt, I really feel like it could go either way
coming into round three.
Bleiben.
[beeping]
Push.
Eddy, push.
CURT MENEFEE: They're off to start in the death sprint.
Eddy, hut.
Eddy, here, here!
CURT MENEFEE: But Eddy ran right by Knock Down.
To be fair, most doors have a house around them.
NICK WHITE: Every second counts.
You know this is going to be close.
Hut, hut.
CURT MENEFEE: Through the window.
And now into the Spiderweb, meant to simulate thickets
that the dogs and handlers have to climb through.
NICK WHITE: Deputy Thompson leading the way, looking fast.
CURT MENEFEE: And the Low Crawl.
NICK WHITE: One of suspects' favorite places to hide
is under crawls, Curt.
So getting under stuff is a really important skill.
CURT MENEFEE: It sounds like a horrible idea
when you've got Eddy coming at you.
Now, boxes up.
Up the 42 boxes.
And these two are just getting faster.
Eddy, Eddy.
CURT MENEFEE: That's over 30 seconds to the top.
Great time.
Through the ductwork tunnels.
This is a great pace so far.
Yes, yes, yes.
CURT MENEFEE: And now we see the balls again.
Yes, yes, yes. Get it, get it.
Yes. CURT MENEFEE: He turned around.
Eddy needs a second try on the first door.
We've seen a lot of ball trouble tonight.
NICK WHITE: He's a little overexcited,
and it cost him a few more precious seconds.
Right here, right here.
CURT MENEFEE: Will they lose more time on door 2?
Yes, yes, yes.
NICK WHITE: No, he didn't.
CURT MENEFEE: And now the part we've
all been waiting for, Eddy's specialty, the Takedown.
Run ya, run ya!
CURT MENEFEE: Look at that speed!
Oh!
NICK WHITE: This is the easy part right here for Eddy.
Loves to bite.
CURT MENEFEE: Deputy Thompson needs
Eddy to let go of that delicious arm
and join him at the finish line to stop the clock.
First!
Come on, come on.
NICK WHITE: Beautiful out and recall.
CURT MENEFEE: 1 minute, 19.86 seconds is the mark to beat.
A couple of mistakes give Team Cam an opportunity to top it.
Good job, buddy.
Making their way to the starting line
is Team Cam from Tallahassee, Florida.
Deputy Justin Wilmot is actually allergic to dogs.
Holy irony.
JUSTIN WILMOT: I'm Justin Wilmot,
a K9 deputy with the Leon County Sheriff's
Office in Tallahassee, Florida.
And this is my K9 partner, Cam.
When I was nine years old, I got alopecia,
a disorder that doesn't allow for hair
to grow in all the places.
I get picked on a lot because of the way I look.
Having a dog, though, you always have a partner.
You always have a buddy you can pet.
You know, that had an impact on me as a person, of course.
Sorry.
I am allergic to dogs.
I get allergy shots every week.
He's always on point and ready to go to work.
Cam is "America's Top Dog."
CURT MENEFEE: Will Team Eddy hold on for the win,
or will Team Cam be crowned tonight's "Top Dog"?
[beeping]
[buzzer]
Heel.
Heel!
Push, push, push.
CURT MENEFEE: Wow.
Just as fast off the start and faster through Knock Down.
Yeah.
NICK WHITE: These two are super focused.
CURT MENEFEE: Through the window and ahead of Team Eddy,
headed to the Spiderweb.
Let's go.
Let's go! Here.
NICK WHITE: One of the strengths of this team
is their communication.
A little hang up can get us through.
CURT MENEFEE: That could cost them as they go into Low Crawl.
Neck and neck with Team Eddy now.
Look at them go.
Shorty got low.
NICK WHITE: Cam waiting for Deputy Wilmot.
Good training.
CURT MENEFEE: Now Boxes Up.
How often do K9s scale 42 boxes in the field, Nick?
NICK WHITE: Not much.
This is a really tough one.
CURT MENEFEE: Oh, no. - Cam, here!
CURT MENEFEE: Now they're slow on the boxes.
Cam got distracted.
Team Eddy was quick here.
Can they match it? - Good boy.
Here, up. High.
CURT MENEFEE: He's going to have to make up some time
going through the duct work. - In here, boy?
Yes!
Good. Here.
CURT MENEFEE: Door breach is where Eddy stumbled.
Can they capitalize?
Good!
CURT MENEFEE: They do!
Quick through one.
Here. Out.
CURT MENEFEE: Just over a minute.
K9 Cam Newton is at the one yard line.
Yes!
NICK WHITE: He flew through the doors.
It's coming down to the wire!
CURT MENEFEE: We know this dog is fast.
Can he snatch victory from the paws of defeat?
Heel!
Watch that man!
Watch it!
Oh!
Attaboy!
Oh!
Cam, heel!
Out here!
CURT MENEFEE: Misses it by four seconds.
NICK WHITE: The dog house will break your heart, Curt.
CURT MENEFEE: Team Eddy will be crowned tonight's "Top Dog."
What do you have to say about your performance tonight
as a team?
I knew he would perform well.
He's a great dog, and he's always aiming to please.
It's just an honor and a blessing to be here.
What a great course.
I enjoyed it.
It was a blast.