Dog the Bounty Hunter, an A&E reality show, made Duane Lee “Dog” and Beth Chapman famous in 2004 for chasing fugitives and bail-jumpers. Duane Chapman’s long blond hair, wraparound shades, and iconoclastic image made him a standout in television, and the show was such a popular that it helped the network change from “Arts & Entertainment” to more populist programming, according to Variety. “This has been a terrific ride for eight seasons and we would not be where we are now but for our loyal and dedicated fans… You can’t keep a good Dog down,” the Chapman family said after Dog the Bounty Hunter was canceled after 240 episodes.

Duane Chapman has shown that last point throughout his tragic life by conquering obstacles that would bring others down. Let’s examine Dog the Bounty Hunter’s sad existence.

Duane “Dog” Chapman’s 2007 book, You Can Run But You Can’t Hide, detailed his terrible childhood. The bond bondsman revealed that his middle-class upbringing in Denver, Colorado with parents Barbara and Wesley and three siblings was far from typical.

As a boy, Chapman writes, “I never understood that other kids didn’t get hit by their dads” (per an excerpt published by CTV News). The then-youngster saw home abuse as a “rite of passage” for all sons. “I simply didn’t know anything different,” he said, adding that he couldn’t remember “any extended stretch” of boyhood without being beaten. He wrote, “I cry thinking of my maltreatment… I had to act manly. I wasn’t male. I wanted my father’s love and approval as a boy. I suppressed the discomfort because I needed his love.”

“Until very recently, I never understood that none of his abuse was my fault… and yet I pledged that I would never beat my kids,” Chapman said, vowing to end this pattern.

Duane “Dog” Chapman’s adult life started poorly. In 1976, 23-year-old Chapman was in trouble, according to the Toronto Star. In Texas, the future Dog the Bounty Hunter star waited in a car with others as his companion bought marijuana from a dealer. The heroin deal went wrong, and Chapman’s friend shot the dealer.

“In Texas in the ’70s, if you were present, you were just as culpable,” Chapman told the media site in 2012. All were convicted of murder. “I shouldn’t have gone,” said the reality star, who was released on parole after serving 18 months of a five-year term. “I shouldn’t have been that person back then.”

After learning his lesson, Chapman was cast on the U.K.’s Celebrity Big Brother but was denied a visa to visit to Britain.

Chapman told the Toronto Star a criminal record is “something that follows you forever. Not proud.”

Duane “Dog” Chapman has a difficult personal life. Entertainment Tonight reports that the Dog the Bounty Hunter star had 12 offspring and five marriages. Christopher Hecht is one of Chapman’s 12 children, but he told the National Enquirer, “When I was in Texas prison, Christopher’s mom, Debbie White, committed herself. After leaving, I discovered I had a son.”

While the two started dating after Hecht turned 18, Chapman’s son has struggled with alcohol misuse, legal issues, and many arrests for gay bashing, ethnic intimidation, and third-degree assault. After serving 90 days for “traffic offenses,” Hecht disappeared in 2007, according to his adoptive mother. She told the National Enquirer that her family was “worried sick” about his disappearance.

Hecht returned, but danger followed him.

Chapman told the publication in 2014 that he and his family staged an intervention and Hecht accepted to rehab. “I’m relieved he’s in rehab,” Chapman remarked. “Thankfully, someone is helping him. Daily prayers for him.”

In the late 1970s, Dog the Bounty Hunter’s first wife left him while he was in prison. After his release, Duane Chapman married his second wife, Anne M. Tengell, with whom he has three daughters, according to Entertainment Today. On Jan. 1, 1980, Zebediah, a preterm newborn boy, died 30 days later. Chapman and Tengell separated after this tragedy, as expected.

Before meeting Beth Chapman, his lifelong love, Duane Chapman married and divorced twice more. In May 2006, they married in Hawaii, but another tragedy occurred. According to Hawaii News Now, Duane learned that his 23-year-old daughter, Barbara Katie Chapman, had been murdered in a car accident near Fairbanks, AK, the night before the wedding.

The Dog the Bounty Hunter star met with a minister, according to Chapman’s publicist. It was agreed that the wedding would go as planned without mention of his daughter’s death until afterward. Chapman’s spokeswoman said the reception would announce the sad news and honor, Barbara.

Duane “Dog” Chapman received temporary custody of his nine-year-old grandson Travis Mimms Jr. in 2011. Radar Online reported that a judge made the decision after hearing a frightening and disturbing audio tape of the boy’s father, the husband of Chapman’s late daughter Barbara Katie Chapman, assaulting the couple’s son.

The Dog the Bounty Hunter star told the reporters that he wanted custody to protect the youngster from a dangerous circumstance, not to take him from his father. “I want him [Travis Senior] to take parenting lessons,” Chapman said, adding that listening to the tape “was torture” and that he needed to do what was best for the child. “My father hit me,” he added. “We must break that cycle.”

Chapman told the publication that his actions echoed his late daughter’s last words. “I love my grandchild,” he remarked. “My daughter Barbara Katie begged, “Please, daddy, take care of Travis Jr.” in our last phone call. Don’t ever hurt him.”

Beth and Duane “Dog” Chapman learned in 2017 that she had stage two throat cancer. The Blast said that Beth had a 12-hour operation in September to remove the plum-sized tumor. Surgery went well. The Dog the Bounty Hunter duo celebrated Beth’s cancer-free status in November’s A&E special Dog & Beth: The Battle of Their Life. “This may be a miracle,” Chapman told E! News.

Alas, their happiness was brief. Andrew Brettler, the Chapmans’ attorney, said on Fox News in November 2018 that Beth had trouble breathing and was sent to a Los Angeles hospital, where a tumor was located in her throat. Emergency surgery revealed cancer had returned. “It’s serious,” Brettler remarked.

Her husband informed fans while Beth tried alternative treatments. On June 26, 2019, Duane Chapman tweeted heartbreaking news: Her second cancer battle killed Beth. 51. “It’s 5:32 in Hawaii,” he wrote. “She climbed the heaven stairs today. We love Beth. See you later.”

Duane Lee Chapman was lost after his wife Beth died. In Dog’s Most Wanted’s final episode, Chapman was interviewed immediately after the tragedy. Chapman admits to contemplating suicide in the tape.

Chapman said his desire to take a “pain pill” was fueled by Beth’s death (via the Daily Mail). He wondered about Beth’s reaction if he rushed to the afterlife: “If I killed myself right now and went to heaven and said, “Hello honey,” would she say, “You dumb**s, why would you do that?” ‘Wow, you’re here.’ Yes, I’m here. You left. Present. Is that required?”

Amy Weiss, Chapman’s manager, told The New York Times he’s “extremely lonely.” “He’s lost,” she said. “He understands he must continue on and provide for his family.” Chapman, who’s previously had to challenge death hoaxes, spoke about his suicidal thoughts on The Dr. Oz Show, citing family friend Moon Angell for helping him “choose life over death.”