Cooperative Living October 2019 - 14

BuildingCommunity | by Steven Johnson, Staff Writer
Nero the Hero
Carolyn Sisk grimaced. A biopsy revealed a cancerous lesion on the leg of her 10-year-old
German shepherd. She'd taken in Nero just a few weeks earlier, and the dog fell in love with
his new surroundings on her Rappahannock County, Virginia, farm. He was the very best of
the six German shepherds she had parented, and it hurt that their time together was so brief.
But this is not a story about the way Nero died. This is about the way he lived.
N
ero was European by birth, as are
most of the canines at Southern
Coast K9, a working dog facility
set on 12 acres near Daytona Beach, Fla.
In December 2010, William Bryant was on
the grounds, looking for a successor to
Hunter, a flat-coated retriever who was
about to retire as Hanover County's first
explosives ordinance detection (EOD) dog.
With seven years of experience as a
handler, Bryant knew what he wanted, and
it wasn't puppy eyes. It was drive and
determination, responsiveness and
understanding, and the way the dog felt
at the end of a leash. Bryant went through
the stock at Southern Coast K9 and then
tested 18-month-old Nero. He had
found something special.
" Nero just clicked with me. It was an
easy pick, " says Bryant, a lieutenant with
the Hanover County Fire/EMS Department
near Richmond. " I ran six or seven of
those dogs and when I got to Nero, I said,
'I'm done. This is the one. Let me work
him out for the rest of the week to make
sure.' And we never looked back. "
Of Bicycles and Bigwigs
They serve a special need, these furry
mobile detection units, and it's a need
that has grown exponentially since the
9/11 attacks. For a time thereafter, copycat
bomb threats inundated local police and
rescue units. Bryant helped Hanover's
program get off the ground so authorities
wouldn't have to wait for a trained dog
to arrive from another jurisdiction.
" We could respond to those calls
quicker. We weren't waiting for someone
else to show up, " Bryant says. " We could
get the schools back open a little quicker
or we could get that store back open if
there was a bomb threat. "
Make no mistake: These are not
family pets. " That was ingrained in us, "
Bryant says of his canine training with
the Virginia State Police. " They're a tool.
They're not a pet. They're a tool. And I
said, 'OK, I'm buying into that. I get it.' "
Nero lived with the Bryant family in
an outdoor compound that the county
constructed for him. When the weather
turned chilly, Nero stayed in Bryant's
insulated garage. Bringing him inside and
playing tug of war was verboten. Most
bomb-sniffing dogs are rewarded not with
a fistful of chewy biscuits, but with play
time - in Nero's case, a hard rubber toy.
" When they get that odor during the
From top,
Nero and
his handler
Lieutenant
William Bryant;
Nero on duty.
12 | Cooperative Living | October 2019
search, their reward is you play with them, "
Bryant explains. " So when you get home,
you don't want to do all that playing and
fetching because the dog will figure it out:
'Why do I need to work when I can go
home and get to do the same thing?' "
As time went on, precautionary bomb
sweeps became ritual to Nero. He worked
the inaugurations of President Donald
Trump and Governors Terry McAuliffe
and Ralph Northam. He was on duty when
former President George W. Bush, former
First Lady Michelle Obama and other
dignitaries passed through Central Virginia.
In 2015, Bryant and Nero worked 10- and
12-hour shifts during the UCI Bicycle
Road World Championships.
In eight years, Bryant and Nero
responded to more than 250 calls. He
became K-9 Captain Nero, outranking his
human handler. On one call, Nero located a
firearm used in an October 2018 homicide
in Ashland. At his retirement in June, the
Hanover Fire/EMS Department honored
him, saying, " K-9 Nero and Lt. Bryant
have helped to make Hanover County
and the surrounding jurisdictions a safer
place to learn, work, play and live. "
Dedicated employees don't slack off
because retirement looms. Same with Nero.
Bryant skipped an in-service training in
Lynchburg in June because Nero was
wrapping up his service.
" The city of Richmond called me the
day before he retired because their dog was
in Lynchburg and said, 'We have an issue
at one of our middle schools where we
think we have a gun on campus. Can
you come down here and help us?' Nero
worked until the day he retired. "
The Cows Come Home
Bryant started thinking about a new
home for Nero in March. EOD dogs slow
as they enter their second decade; Nero
would turn 10 on June 20. Bryant knew
he couldn't keep his sidekick. It wouldn't
be fair to the dog. He'd be working with
a new canine, his three kids would be in
school all day, and Nero would be in the
yard by his lonesome.
Carolyn Sisk wasn't sure if she was ready
for Nero. He came to her attention through
Bryant's sister Hannah, wife of the senior
co-opliving.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAM BRYANT
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILLIAM BRYANT

http://www.co-opliving.com

Cooperative Living October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living October 2019