KEITH SHARP TALKS TO TV REALITY STAR DUANE LEE "DOG" CHAPMAN ABOUT HOW THE FAMILY THAT CATCHES CRIMINALS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER

Duane Lee "Dog" Chapman is every fugitive's worst nightmare. As caught on the weekly hit A&E television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Chapman, his life partner Beth Smith, son Leland, blood brother Tim and nephew Justin are the scourge of bail jumpers and hard-nosed criminals alike. There are one hundred full-time bounty hunters in the United States but only one Dog.

Chapman has turned his bounty hunting activities into an industry: the seven-episode Dog The Bounty Hunter: The Best Of Season 1 DVD has just been released, and a second season (shot in Hawaii) is now in production. He is also a noted public speaker, operates his own bodyguard-training classes (which employ Belgian Malinois dogs), is reportedly the subject of a major motion picture, and makes a killing (figuratively) selling Dog merchandise over the Internet. Not bad for an admitted bad seed biker and former petty crook who once served eighteen months in a Texas federal prison as an accessory to murder.

"I am the Dog. I am the best because I think like a criminal," boasts Chapman over the phone from his Honolulu base where he's preparing to shoot the second series. "I know all the tricks. I know how they act, how they hide, how they run. And I'm that much smarter than they are."

Born and raised in Denver, CO, Chapman comes by his criminal instincts honestly. As a youth, he was busted numerous times for armed robbery. When an attempted drug deal turned deadly, he was nailed as an accomplice and served his life-altering prison stretch.

"I went to school with all these Mexican kids and kept getting beaten up. So I'd cut school, found four other white kids cutting school and we formed a gang, The Devil's Disciples, and one bad thing led to another," he explains. "I served my stretch - I felt I was even with God - but I wanted to have a positive influence. The most positive thing I could think of was to turn the tables and go after the bad guys." Upon his release, Chapman was hit by a divorce from his first wife and a judgment to pay child support. "The judge suggested I could make money by tracking down fugitives for a living. I only needed one week to find the first guy. I got paid $200 and the rest is history."

Twenty-five years later, The Dog can boast some 6,000 busts. Now based in Hawaii, he operates Da Kine Bail Bonds with his extended family. With his muscular build, blonde mane and leather pants and jacket, Chapman looks like a cross between a WWE wrestler and a heavy metal rock star. Because of his ex-felon status, he is restricted from carrying a gun, instead brandishing a can of mace from his holster. "Believe me, this stuff does the job," he notes. "A big part of the job is intimidation. We just get in their face and defy them to resist arrest - not a smart thing to do." Anyone watching the show can vouch for the validity of the series, as violent confrontations are a regular feature of their takedowns. "This is why it's good to have the family involved," he explains. "I trust them, I believe in them, we protect each other's backs. I have worked with so many people that bailed as soon as things got rough."

As for the A&E cameramen who record the footage: "We lost a couple of guys after the first series. Their wives wouldn't let them come back. But we've got a couple of good guys now who can run with us."

As bounty hunters and bail bondsmen, Chapman and co. only get paid when they nab their fugitive and sometimes the payoff is nothing like the 15% commission they are supposed to receive. But the exposure from the series, whose theme song was written and performed by Ozzy Osbourne, has given the 52-year old and family an almost Billy The Kid-like notoriety. They have also been featured on Court TV, Fox News Channel and the A&E TV special It's A Living.

"Yes, there is a romanticism about being a bounty hunter," allows Chapman. "I'm not a cop but I can pursue criminals. And when a cop goes home at the end of the day, that's it. I don't get paid unless I get my guy. We are always under pressure to get our fugitive."

What makes the Dog TV show so captivating are the family insights, Chapman's obvious religious convictions, the genuine concern he has for his victims' welfare, and infamous quotes like "six men can carry you or twelve men can judge you. You decide." Another one of the show's featured attractions is the equally larger-than-life Beth, his hard-as-nails business and life partner. "Yeah, I've got to remind her that it's the Dog's show and not The Beth Show," laughs Chapman. "I had a dream that God created her in my image and that was it. She's been stalking me ever since."

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