Chester County Deputy Sheriff Paul Bryant acknowledged that he had a good feeling when he and his K-9 partner Don completed the cadaver competition at the National Detector Dog Certification and Field Trials on Tuesday, June 7, in Philadelphia.
For decades, Bryant, a master K-9 trainer and national U.S. Police Canine Association (USPCA) judge, had shared the joy of victory with countless trainees as they earned regional and national recognition. Still, that didn’t completely prepare him for what transpired on Wednesday, June 8.
Bryant, who joined the Chester County Sheriff’s Office after nearly three decades with the Philadelphia Police Department, had participated as one of the competitors – for the first time in his 34-year career as a K-9 handler.
“It was something I always wanted to do, but I never got the opportunity,” he said. “I was always too busy training other officers.”
And even though Bryant said he felt confident when he and Don finished their regimen, which includes locating human remains that have been hidden on a course, he was not prepared to earn top dog.
“It was just an overwhelming feeling,” Bryant said after hearing his name called. “All I could think was wow!”
After receiving his first win, Bryant said he started to return to his seat when a judge whispered that he should stay put. That was because he swept the category, earning all three cadaver awards, including best overall.
Bryant said the recognition was special because making it to the nationals requires a qualification process at the regionals, which were held in March at the Chester County Public Safety Training Center in South Coatesville. “It’s the best of the best,” Bryant said of last week’s competition.
Making the victory even sweeter was the fact that other members of his department also did well at the event, which was hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary Working Dog Center. “This was definitely a team effort,” he said.
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh said she was delighted with the results. In addition to Bryant, the teams of Deputy Sheriff Lt. Harry McKinney his drug-detecting partner Jessie and Deputy Sheriff Brian Bolt and Yukon, a bomb-sniffing specialist, also received trophies.
“It is an outstanding achievement to have a trophy dog in each of the three categories,” Welsh said. “Of course Don was the ‘King of the Canines in Cadaver.’ We are all so very proud.”
Bryant agreed, crediting their success to the support of Welsh and other members of the department.
He said the accomplishment of Bolt, who was also a multi-award winner, was especially impressive for a first-timer. “Usually, it takes some practice to achieve the level of comfort needed to compete at a high level,” said Bryant. “I was just blown away by how well he did.”
Bryant said he has been hooked on K-9 units ever since he got his first dog in 1998. Because it’s such a consuming responsibility, he also expressed gratitude for the support he’s received from his wife, Lisa Bryant. In order to spend time with her husband, she became a scorekeeper and was on duty last week, tallying the results as the judges completed their scorecards, which identified the teams only by number.
Paul Bryant explained that after the results are tabulated and finalized, the judges and the scorekeepers can get access to the list to see which teams won to satisfy their own curiosity; however, they are not permitted to share that knowledge until the awards are announced at a banquet the next day.
So did Lisa Bryant check the list?
“Yes, she did, and I had no idea,” her husband said. Asked whether he thought it was difficult for her to keep the secret, Paul Bryant paused and then laughed. “No, I don’t think she had trouble,” he said. “I think she may have liked knowing something that I didn’t.”
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