Shane Bryant was born in Sydney and grew up in Dapto on the New South Wales south coast. After joining the Australian Army at the age of 17, he eventually fulfilled his ambition to qualify as an explosive detection dog handler. He later worked as a police dog handler, a private investigator and a not-very-successful real estate salesman. In 2006, he returned to his first love, working with dogs, and took a job in Afghanistan as a civilian dog handler contracted to provide support to the US Army and other coalition military forces. He served 10 years in Afghanistan and Iraq as a military contractor in frontline and management positions.
