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Duane “The Dog” Chapman is on a mission from God: to rescue as many brothers and sisters from crime as he possibly can. You see, the Dog knows about crime inherently. That’s because, by the age of 14, he was running with a biker gang in Colorado. At 22, and after several arrests for robbery and other petty crimes, he managed to get involved with the big one, Murder: a fellow gang brother shot and killed a drug dealer while Chapman was tagging along. He subsequently served 18 months (of a five-year sentence) in a Texas State Penn for being an accomplice to the dope deal gone bad. As the old story goes: The mullet-haired Chapman, who looks like he could’ve been battling Mel Gibson in the Road Warrior, found Jesus in prison, and once he was born-again, and freed, he set out to do the work of the lord. Of course, under the guise of a bounty hunter. Because: If you can’t beat em….catch ‘em. “I’m in charge of the thieves, you know,” says Chapman. “That’s who God has given me, so to speak, as a flock. If you look at it right, brother, it’s like a ministry.” Dog — who won’t forget to remind you, just in case you even come close to doubting his omnipotence, “is God spelled backwards” — boasts over 6,000 captures with nary a bullet fired. And, he says: “Seventy percent of my captures happen because some good ol’ American has turned them in.” Bravo for citizen narcs! Of course, being members of the God Squad, and before heading out to capture their usual petty crime cats, the Dog Team gathers around in a prayer circle: “Let us be an example in their lives, lord, in Jesus’ name.” (Not to mention, the almighty Benjamin’s.) One wonders if Jesus would’ve approved of their tough talk. Here, warning a woman, so doped up on meth that she can hardly move, let alone speak, against resisting capture: “You fight out of a coma if you even try!” Then they take the inevitable gloomy ride downtown in which Chapman, trying hard not to shed the tears of Christ, dispenses one of his usual savvy lectures: “We love you, but just like we loved the dog that bit the mailman, once he broke the skin we had to get rid of him. Don’t bite the mailman.” Aw, yes: the kind of witticism that Reality TV legends are made of. Now, I bet you’re wondering how this particular legend got his nickname. “I was very loyal. I’m a man’s best friend,” says Chapman. “I always showed up for the fight. I take care of my brothers. I’m Native American [editor's note: almost half on one side!], so it’s in my blood to always want brothers and friends. I’m a good brotherhood guy.” And, now, quite a famous one. It was the year of 2003 that Chapman and his Posse made the catch of a lifetime. You’ve heard the story a thousand times. Max Factor heir Andrew Luster drugs women, fucks them while taping the action, and then flees to Mexico when his gig is up. The Dog Team catches the bad guy, and, mind you, doesn’t receive any bounty money in the deal. But they do manage to parlay the fame into the top rated show on the A & E Network (they even get an original theme song by Ozzy Osbourne!). It’s a nice reward for having to even spend a moment in a Mexican jail (they spent a few days). For the show’s third season, Chapman signed on for a reported 2.6 million. Not bad for an ex-con and father of 12 trying to make ends meet. But, ya know, when Jesus is on your side… 7 Fun Facts About Bounty Hunting 1. There are an estimated 30,000 bail jumpers per year. 2. Bounty hunter’s are employed by a bail bondsman and paid portion of the bail the fugitive initially paid. 3. Successful bounty hunters make more than $100,000 a year. 4. Unlike the police, bounty hunters have no legal protection against injuries to non-fugitives, and very few legal protections against injuries to their targets. 5. Bounty hunting laws vary upon the state you live in. 6. The term bounty hunting refers back to the days when rewards were offered for the capture or killing of any articulated person. 7. Current-day bounty hunters don’t like the term bounty hunter. They would prefer to be called bail enforcement agents or fugitive recovery agents. It sounds so much more on the up-and-up. Our Favorite Dogism “Lord, thank you for this day and keep us all alive tomorrow. This is a great life, please help it to keep going…Please don’t let me get shot!” * Recommended reading: Banksy: Graffiti Artist Gone Rad. |

































































