DALTON, Ga. — Though Todd Thompson, a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and his K9 partner, Eddy, have already gained local and regional acclaim for their accomplishments together, the nation will be able to watch them demonstrate their abilities on the new A&E series “America’s Top Dog,” which premieres next month.

Eddy, of course, “couldn’t care less” about trophies, television or notoriety, Thompson said.

“He protects me, and I owe a lot to Eddy,” he said.

In each one-hour episode of “America’s Top Dog,” four police K9 teams, including fan favorites from the hit series “Live PD,” and one civilian team will face off for the title of “Top Dog,” according to Cydney Schiller Prentice, director of publicity and communications for Babygrande PR, based in Santa Monica, California. Each week’s winning team earns $10,000 — with an additional $5,000 donated to the animal charity of their choice — and top competitors return to the finale course to battle for the title of “America’s Top Dog” (and an additional $25,000 cash prize) in the season’s final episode.

The process of becoming a contestant on the series actually began in February for Thompson, and he soon made his initial foray into interviewing via Skype to provide more information about himself and Eddy, he said.

“I was actually a little apprehensive, because I didn’t know what to expect,” but since he was told the interview would only take about 30 minutes, and it lasted three times as long, “I thought it went really well.”

Additional Skype interviews followed, and Thompson submitted nearly 1,000 photos and videos of Eddy demonstrating his capabilities and personality, but months passed. Thompson said he “kind of forgot about it” until he was informed via a phone call that he and Eddy had been selected. Thompson, his wife Ann, and Eddy flew to Los Angeles in June to tape the show.

They were also able to sightsee and explore the City of Angels, and the show took care of travel accommodations, including getting Eddy a seat right next to Thompson on the flight, he said.

A driver took Thompson and Eddy to the show’s desert setting, where he met other contestants from around the nation, Thompson said. Eddy competed in a variety of tasks, including swimming, jumping over fences and attacking a fleeing individual wearing a bite suit.

Contestants are not permitted to offer “spoilers” since the show hasn’t even begun airing, yet, but Thompson did say, “We did well.”

The series, hosted by veteran sports broadcaster Curt Menefee and expert dog trainer Nick White, with additional reporting from sports reporter and animal rescue ambassador Jamie Little, premieres on A&E Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. Menefee currently co-hosts “Fox NFL Sunday” in addition to wrap-up show “The OT”; White is a Marine and former member of the Secret Service with years of experience working with K9s; and Little has covered pit road for Fox NASCAR and has been a reporter at the 2019 Westminster Kennel Club Show.

“I had a hard time sleeping” the final night in LA, because “I couldn’t believe all that happened in four days,” Thompson said. “It was like a whirlwind,” and he kept his shirt with the “America’s Top Dog” patch on the shoulder to add to the stack of memorabilia he’s already earned with Eddy.

“The whole experience was really cool, to see a touch of how Hollywood is,” he added. “It was long, tiring and a bit arduous, but it was worth it.”

Thompson, 40, is grateful his bosses allowed he and Eddy to do the series, as “this makes everyone look good,” he said. The show has even boosted Thompson’s status under his own roof, as “my wife is my biggest fan, and my daughter thinks this is the neatest thing in the world.”

Thompson, the lone officer in this county’s K9 division, feels he and Eddy represent K9 units from around the country, and “this shows hard work pays off,” he said. “I want him to be the best he can be, and we’re very much at the top of our game.”

Whitfield County’s K9 program had been on hiatus for decades, but when the possibility of re-instituting the special department was raised, Thompson was intrigued, because “I felt I was born to do this,” he said. He already had two German shepherds at his house, and throughout his life, he’s raised, enjoyed and cared for various animals, but he knew it would be an tremendous responsibility, perhaps even straining his family’s finances.

After mulling it over for a week with his wife, she told him he didn’t have “to sell” her on the idea, and that she completely backed him, he said. Fortunately, “everything fell into place, like she assured me it would.”

Thompson, who has spent nearly half his life in law enforcement, is thankful the sheriff’s office reintroduced the K9 unit, but he felt immense “internal and external pressure to succeed,” knowing that, if he failed, it could very well sour both the department and the public on K9 programs for decades, he said. “I felt I had to prove myself, (because) one mistake would trump all kinds of good (deeds),” so he drove himself obsessively into learning as much about training dogs for police duties as possible.

Eddy came to the U.S. from the Czech Republic when he was less than a year old, and Thompson spent months with him in Alabama for training, he said. At the beginning, Eddy was truly tabula rasa, as “he didn’t even know how to lie down.”

Thompson and Eddy passed their first United States Police Canine Association certification, but Thompson noticed trophies awarded to outstanding dogs, and “I got the hunger,” so he devoted himself to more training and expertise, he said. The next year, he and Eddy took first place in that same competition.

Between day-to-day police work, national contests, additional training and, now, a TV show, Thompson and Eddy have become local celebrities, which is especially meaningful to Thompson, who was born and raised in Whitfield County, he said. “I feel the support of the public, and that’s a great feeling to have.”

Eddy is inextricably linked to Thompson, tethered to him both during work and off hours and making his home at Thompson’s residence, so he’s “definitely part of our family,” he said. His wife and daughter, Emma, 12, “love him to death.”

While many police dogs have names like “Killer,” “Narco” or “Kilo,” Thompson prefers Eddy because “it’s more people-friendly,” he said. After all, in addition to sniffing for drugs, biting perpetrators, and chasing criminals, Eddy also joins Thompson for presentations at schools and other community events.

“I don’t know if I could have accomplished any of this” with a different dog, Thompson said. “Eddy is special.”

Few canines have what it takes to be police dogs, but Eddy was born with the necessary courage, Thompson said. He did need to build his confidence in some areas, however.

For example, his self-belief on slippery surfaces was lacking, so Thompson took him repeatedly to gym floors to practice, he said. Now, Eddy scampers across the slipperiest of floors without giving the surface a second thought.

“We’re all creatures of habit, and we’ve been doing the same routine for going on four years,” so simply a look from Thompson is enough to communicate with Eddy, who is “very sensitive,” he said. “I spend more time with him than with my wife or child.”

His tone of voice is also pivotal, as a sharp word or two will snap Eddy to attention, he said. “With dogs, it’s more important how you say something than what you actually say.”

“We make a good team,” he said. “If you’re going to do something like this, you should try to be the very best, or else why do it?”

While on the job, Eddy springs from his vehicle with purpose on every occasion, he said. However, when in Thompson’s driveway, he saunters from the vehicle to Thompson’s house with the insouciance of a fourth-grader leading his class out to recess.

When Thompson puts on his uniform each day, he “transforms” into a different person — he has to, in order to perform his law enforcement duties safely and effectively — but when he returns home for the day, he sheds that cloak of armor to be a husband and father, he explained. Likewise, Eddy can turn on and off like a “light switch,” — all business during work, and “just a dog at home.”

A couple of years ago, Thompson pulled over a female driver and male passenger, and Thompson quickly called for backup, because “my sixth sense was telling me something was not right,” he said. “I knew, because of the way the passenger was acting, and the driver was telling me with her body language I ought to be ready.”

He asked the passenger to exit the vehicle “to get us on even terms” and warned him he could release Eddy if “he did anything stupid,” he said. The male passenger, did, indeed, “do something stupid, and we got into a tussle,” with Thompson deploying his taser, which proved ineffective, so he unleashed Eddy, who “helped me get out of that situation.”

“That was the first true test for him, because he was young, but he succeeded, and it matured him,” Thompson said. “He is ‘man’s best friend.'”

Following his shift, Thompson and Eddy returned home, and his wife learned about the incident, he said. While watching the video and writing his report, Thompson noticed his wife brushing Eddy and telling him she was “proud,” which “almost brought a tear to my eye.”

Eddy “can tell when I’m having a bad day, he knows where he stands with me, and I know where I stand with him,” Thompson said. “He feeds off me, and I feed off him.”

“I’ve told my dad I feel like I’m on a cloud because I love so much being able to bring a dog to work every day,” Thompson concluded. “This has become something almost bigger than life, and I know when I look back on my career, this will definitely be the highlight of my days as a cop.”