For eight seasons, fans watched Duane “Dog” Chapman, his family, and other bail bondsmen team up to bring perps to justice. Dog had a routine job of apprehending criminals, but the series showed another side of Dog the bounty hunter. Frequently, Dog would check to see whether perps had sustained injuries during capture, or encourage them to change their livesfor the better. Dog was once on the wrong side, so Dog could sympathize and help criminals on the run.
Per Toronto Star, Dog was involved in a drug deal gone south in the 1970s, which culminated in his friend shooting the dealer. Dog ended up in prison after soul-searching, even though he had not done the shooting. “I did 18 months in prison. When I was in prison, I became the warden’s barber, so that means all the guards were my friends,” the reality star told Fox News in 2007. “One guy went to break and run … and I jumped him and just — the guard[s] were going to shoot him in the back. And as the guard walked up when I was on top of the inmate apprehending him … he said, ‘Hook him up, bounty hunter.'” It was a crucial moment that would forever alter the course of Dog’s career.