Dog the Bounty Hunter is a former bail bondsman turned bounty hunter and colourful character who first came to public attention in 2003 when he made international news by capturing Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster. 

Since then, Dog has never looked back, starring in several TV shows that see him tracking down bail outlaws in America. In his latest series, Dog’s finding fugitives and taking names, and in his words, ‘Making America Safe Again!’.

Blaze grabbed ten minutes with Dog otherwise known as Duane to talk about life as a bounty hunter and some of the most dangerous situations he has faced in his 40-year-long career.

Blaze: So, what's your favourite thing about being a bounty hunter?

Dog: I think I'm accomplishing something. When I arrest a real bad guy or bad girl, I’m doing something for humanity. And afterwards, I try to help the person that I apprehended to go back to being a productive member of society. You feel like you did your job and you take pride in yourself.

Blaze: What is your least favourite thing about being a bounty hunter?

Dog: My least favourite thing right now of course because of the Pandemic is everyone's wearing a mask so, that's getting very difficult to ID your perp.

Blaze: What skills are most important as a Bounty Hunter?

Dog: You have to be a Sherlock Holmes. You have to be a terrific investigator yourself and have a terrific team behind you because sometimes if you don't see something, the teammates that you've trained will.

We may make twenty-five mistakes but the guy we're looking for only has to make one.

Blaze: What's the worst thing that can happen on an investigation?

Dog: If you lay eyes on that person and he gets away, that's a cock-up. Okay, that's only happened a couple of times in my career, and for that, you could get fired. You can also go to jail. If you kick in the wrong door: you're trespassing. If you point a gun at the girlfriend in the house: you're threatening. Cops don’t usually go to jail for things they do wrong, but bounty hunters do. So, we have to do it exactly right. 

But the main thing is you can die. Three or four months ago, a bounty hunter here, made a mistake. And he did something he shouldn't have done when he was pursuing someone and he was shot. He was wearing a vest but unfortunately, bulletproof vests ride along the collarbone of your chest and the bullet hit that edge in his neck. It killed him right there.

Blaze: What sort of training do bounty hunters get?

Dog: I've been doing this 42 years and back then if there was a price on somebody's head the police didn't care who caught him as long as they were brought in. But today you have to take a lot of courses and there are lots of rules and laws because of the popularity of the show.

Dog the Bounty Hunter came out in 2003 and so a lot of people said 'Oh, I can do this too,' even though we warned in each episode, 'Don't try this at home'. So, because of that, all these different types of people wanted to become bounty hunters and they had to start legislating and issuing licenses.

Blaze: How long does this bounty hunting training take?

Dog: Well, I would think it should take a couple of years. In the first six months, you learn what is a warrant, what this paperwork is for etc. But the best training of all is in the field.

I don't think you become a good bounty hunter for maybe five years. Now, if you are an ex-police officer, of course, it doesn't take that long. If you are military, it doesn't take that long. But if you work at the bakery and you decide you want to become a bounty owner, there's quite a bit of training.

Blaze: What's the most dangerous situation you've been on during the show?

Dog: Well, there's a lot. If a fugitive has a gun he may shoot you, or one of your teammates and that's a dangerous situation. In America right now, everybody's packing. So, it's getting a lot more dangerous to catch a guy.

Blaze: In the new series, one of the fugitives had a couple of bombs in their house

Dog: That's crazy 'I'm like oh my God, this guy's making bombs!' It wasn't like an American grenade, what he used to make the bomb - and I'm not going to say - is something you could pick it up in the UK. 

Scary stuff! From bomb-making to perp-chasing, check out the new series of Dog the Bounty Hunter, only on Blaze.

MARY NZEH

You know Dog the Bounty Hunter. You’ve no doubt seen him and his team doing their thing on Dog the Bounty Hunter: Most Wanted here on Blaze. You know he lives in Hawaii. You know he’s a lean, mean bounty-hunting machine. You know that he really, really likes wearing sunglasses. But there’s plenty you don’t know about Mr. Duane Lee ‘Dog’ Chapman Sr...

Here are 5 of those things:

He can’t carry a gun because of a murder conviction

Is Dog the Bounty Hunter a real bounty hunter? Absolutely. Although he’s one who cannot legally possess or carry a firearm on the job. 

As a younger man, Duane was caught up in gangs, drugs and violence. We're not just talking the odd scrape here and there, though. In 1977, he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to serve five years in jail. Dog wasn't directly responsible, though. He was in the car when his friend got out and shot Jerry Lee Oliver to death. The state, however, declared him an accomplice. The future bounty hunter served 18 months of his sentence at a Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville before being released.

The conviction has meant that Dog has never been legally allowed to own a firearm, something that’s sometimes referred to in the show. Now you know why.

Dog and his ‘new girlfriend’ have actually known each other 30 years

When Dog’s wife Beth died in 2019, few people expected him to move on quite so quickly. Some fans were surprised when news broke that, just a few months after the funeral, Dog had a new beau who was moving in with him. But it wasn’t as sudden as it may have appearred.

So who is Dog the Bounty Hunter's girlfriend? Well, her name is Moon Angell and she’s been an assistant and friend to Duane for some three decades. It looks as though Moon is well on her way to becoming the sixth wife of The World’s Most Famous Bounty Hunter too. Only Dog proposed to her on Dr. Oz’s show back in January (and she said yes).

His daughter died on the eve of his wedding to Beth

You may have heard that Duane’s experienced plenty of heartache in his time and lost close family members. Which of Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughters died, though? Well, that would be Barbara. She was only 23 years of age when she passed away, the timing of which was especially horrible for her father.

In May of 2006, Barbara Katy Chapman was driving a stolen SUV in her hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, when she lost control. The car went off road, flipped and smashed into some trees. Both her and her friend in the passenger seat died. It’s thought that alcohol and drugs were involved. The next day was Dog and Beth’s wedding. They heard the news in the morning and decided to tell guests pre-ceremony and dedicate the day to Barbara’s memory.

The Dog is a multimillionaire 

Chapman’s a wealthy guy. To get specific we’d need to answer a question like, ‘how much is Dog the Bounty Hunter worth?’ The answer is, well, quite a few million dollars. A decent estimate is around the $6-7 million mark.

Of course, he has the income from his bounty hunting business. That’s a decent whack. Then there is, of course, the money he earns from A&E for his show. Add to that his endorsements and deals, book royalties, investments and - we’re sure - a few legit side hustles and business interests. Totalled together, it’s a tidy little bounty!

Dog is a New York Times best-selling author

In 2007 Chapman released his very own autobiography called You Can Run But You Can't Hide (it was co-written with Laura Morton). The book made its debut #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Which is no mean feat.

His second book, also co-authored with Morton, Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given, came out three years later. It didn’t shift quite as many units but was still a success.

We’re certain there are more than just 5 things y’all don’t know about the man. But it’s not for us to unveil all his secrets. To find out more about the man and how he operates, don’t forget to tune into Dog the Bounty Hunter: Most Wanted on Blaze.