Ex-con bounty hunter wins TV fans while capturing fugitives

The scientific term for what happens to someone when they step through the door of Duane Chapman’s home in Hawaii is “cognitive dissonance” – the mental clanging of old and new perceptions.

There on the couch sits the Dog himself, still decked out in full road-warrior regalia after a long day hunting bail jumpers.

But what’s this? He’s sipping champagne from a margarita glass beneath a spray of party balloons, and his take-no-stuff wife, Beth Smith, is chasing a gaggle of giggling kiddies around the living room.

Also present is Tim “No Relation” Chapman, the Dog’s longtime associate, exchanging aw-shucks glances with the Dog’s son, Leland, a full-time bounty hunter and part-time extreme fighter.

They speak, softly, about the surprise success of their A&E series “Dog the Bounty Hunter” (Tuesdays at 9 p.m., cable channel 52 in Spokane, 37 in Coeur d’Alene).

Not that any of these seeming contradictions in character should be any surprise to fans of the reality show. The Dog, who once served two years in a Texas penitentiary for being an accessory to murder, is as much about second glances as second chances.

In last year’s freshman run, the Dog showed he is as effective a lifestyle counselor as he is a man hunter – a relentless pursuer who, once the capture was made, would rather clean a fugitive’s psychological closet than clean his clock.

“Compassion works,” Chapman says. “Respect is important. Caring about people is important.

“Half the people we caught in our first season have jobs and are trying to be responsible now,” he says. “The other half is doing time. I was there, and I think everybody deserves a second chance.”

Adds Smith: “The novelty is ‘Let’s watch Dog get the bad guys.’ But then you start watching the show and walk away bawling. It’s not ‘Cops.’ It’s ‘Touched by a Bounty Hunter.’ “

Chapman, 51, grew up in Denver. His father was a Navy welder. His mother, half Chirakawa Apache, was a minister.

He got his nickname as a member of a motorcycle gang. As a juvenile, he had been arrested numerous times for robbery and other offenses.

The turning point came during his incarceration in Texas, when he decided he had to change the course of his life. After his release, he took on his first bounty-hunting job for a local judge in order to pay his first wife back child support.

In the more than 25 years since, Chapman has brought in some 6,000 fugitives, using a little muscle, an enormous repertoire of creative tricks and his own fine-tuned instincts.

Married four times with 12 children, he knew early on that he wanted his bail bond and bounty hunting business to be a family affair.

Smith, 34, has been a bonds-person since she was 21. Leland watched his father do his thing from the car until he was old enough to help out. This season, another son, Duane Lee II, joins the fray.

While Chapman and his team have tracked down a fair share of famous fugitives over the years, it was the well-publicized capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster – which got the Dog temporarily detained in Mexico – that helped them land the TV show.

“Dog the Bounty Hunter” attracted up to 3 million viewers per episode last season, making it A&E’s most popular prime-time show and one of the top draws on cable TV.

HarperCollins has set an August release date for the book “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide,” based on Dog’s life. The family also has entered into licensing agreements for a cartoon series, a TV movie and – what else? – action figures.

The Dog’s high profile also has led to some interesting encounters on the mainland.

“We’ll be walking down the street and some fugitive I’m not even looking for will see me and his eyes will bug out,” Chapman says, chuckling. “Sometimes they’ll get within 20 feet, then break out in a dead sprint.”