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Authors: Duane Dog Chapman

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tive. When I met his parents, I could see the pain in their eyes be-

cause their son was no longer recognizable to them. He had

become an angry and abusive drug addict. As I stood listening to

his mother talk about her boy, I was reminded of my own child-

hood. That was the first time I realized how I must have crushed

my parents with the choices I made as a young man.

I looked around the house and noticed there was nothing of

value in sight. Anything that could have been hocked was bolted

down or hidden behind a large padlocked door. My heart ached for

their pain. The boy’s mother grabbed my hand, looked into my tear-

filled eyes, and said something I’ll never forget:

“Please, Dog, go get him. Save him.”

Every criminal leaves behind a path of destruction. Carrying

their pain in my heart makes me the Dog. I am the voice of those

who fear they cannot change their lives for the better, because you

must trust me when I say, you can. It’s not the size of the dog in the

fight, it’s the fight in the dog. I am living proof that with unshakable

faith and God’s love, anything is possible.

I usually tell people that bounty hunting is what I do best, but

the truth is, I am the greatest criminal who ever lived. I took my

conviction and turned it into something good by becoming a de-

fender of the law instead of an offender. I am reminded of the old

Indian woman who told me I would someday lead millions. At the

time, I knew she saw something I couldn’t comprehend. But my In-

dian heritage guided me toward becoming the leader of some kind

of tribe. So it makes sense that I have become the President (or

Chief) of the Convicts in this world. It hurts me to make such an

admission, but the truth is, it’s who I really am. I can’t walk in their

leg irons any more, but I can serve them as their leader, hoping they

want to follow in my footprints down the road to redemption. I

have to live my life as an example of what one of the “good guys”

really looks, lives, and loves like so that everyone believes they can

have a better life.

A lot of people ask me why I am so compassionate when I cap-

a F i n a l Th o u g h t

317

ture fugitives. The reason is pretty simple. I’ve been in the system. I

know what it feels like to be mistreated and disrespected. I’ve been

that person. I understand how hard it is to get off drugs and to stop

living like a crook.

To this very day, even as I continue to fight the law for my rights

as a United States citizen, as I look down the barrel of doing four

years in a Mexican prison on trumped-up charges that are blatantly

false, I haven’t lost hope for the American judicial system. The be-

lief that I committed an extraditable crime by capturing Andrew

Luster is simply wrong. That September morning I was arrested by

federal marshals, I was picked up on a bad warrant. It stated I was

wanted for kidnapping, which is totally outrageous. The charge

against me in Mexico was deprivation of liberty, a misdemeanor

and non-extraditable offense. Why this issue has failed to resolve it-

self is far beyond my comprehension.

One thing I know for sure.

I am a man on a mission. There will be many more turbulent

days in my future. Despite that, I will continue to forge ahead and

capture many more people who commit crimes against women and

children. I will carry on my mission to defend truth, justice, and the

American way. I will maintain my dignity to keep serving the Lord.

Every heartache, every setback, and every moment of truth I

have faced, I have done so for you. I want everyone to understand

that no matter what your circumstances are, you have the power,

the strength, and the courage to persevere. I wrote this book as an

inspiration for you to know that if I can turn my life around, so can

you. I am the poster child for rehabilitation. Even when people still

continue to lie about me, saying I conspired to kidnap someone, I’m

still faithful to the end because I know the Lord has put me on this

mission—a mission I will remain on until I take my last breath.

May God bless you all.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Some of the dialogue in the book has been re-created, as my recollections are not always exact or complete, and may not reflect exact language exchanged at the time. My intent is to allow the reader to understand the circumstances and experience the moments in which those discussions took place. I have done my best to accurately portray my memory of the conversations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I ha ve so many people
to thank for so many things in my

life. However, I’m going to keep it simple by thanking only those

who directly helped me write this book, which allowed me to tell

the story I’ve wanted to share for so many years. There will be other

opportunities for me to thank all the others in my life to whom I

owe so much and who have touched me deeply.

I first must thank my wife, Beth, for her insight and intelligence

in seeing that there is better in me than others expect. I’m no angel

for sure, but I’m trying my best to help people understand who I am

by educating them about my past. We all have a past that affects

our present and knowing your brother, your neighbor, your boss,

will help you love him or her for who they are. Beth, I love you for

all you do to protect me and to help make my dreams come true.

You are the yin to my yang and the love of my life and my true soul

mate.

I want to thank my manager and literary agent, Alan Nevins, who

stepped into my life the day before I was arrested in Hawaii by U.S.

Marshals. I don’t think he knew what hit him that first morning he

awoke to Beth crying on the phone at the crack of dawn. He thought

it would be all champagne and flowers that day, and it’s been a huge

undertaking ever since. He’s put enormous energy and hours into

this book dealing with every aspect you can imagine, albeit some

from a hotel room overlooking Diamond Head in Waikiki. I know

321

a c k n ow l e d g m e n t s

he’s aware how appreciative Beth and I are for him stepping into our

chaotic lives. I’ve grown to love him and his dry humor, which keeps

Beth occupied so I can relax. We wouldn’t move three feet without

him today. And that goes for his colleagues at The Firm, both Mindy

Stone who helped clear photos and Robert Choi, whose days we keep

busy by keeping Alan with us.

Laura Morton, one of my newfound friends. The one thing I

needed to do if this book was going to get written was not sit on

it forever. Laura stepped right in and took control and helped me

write a book that made me cry the first time I picked up the pages

to read them. She organized my many hours of rambling stories

and Beth’s notes into a coherent story, and it turned out to be the

story I wanted to tell. She worked under pressures no one can imag-

ine, although she had even better views and beaches than Alan, as

she lived with us here on our island paradise that I love so much. I

will be forever thankful for her patience, her hard work, and her

understanding. I also need to thank Laura’s colleague, Adam, who

helped divide and conquer so we could tell the story twice as fast.

I also want to thank my publisher, Robert Miller, who is obvi-

ously a highly intelligent man since he bought my book and I didn’t

have to chase him. He surrendered immediately. He’s been a gentle-

man in all senses of the word and gave me the words of encourage-

ment that allowed me to tell the story I wanted to tell. He and my

wonderfully patient editor, Zareen Jaffery, were hugely helpful in

that they understood our needs and allowed me and Beth to vent

when appropriate. They listened, they understood, and they gave us

the time and room we needed and I am deeply grateful to them both

for their help. I know there are many others at Hyperion who I’ve

not met yet at the time I write this but who have also spent count-

less hours helping me create my book. I thank you all and hope to

meet each of you personally, especially the attorneys, who had much

work on their hands.

I also want to take the time to thank those people at the produc-

tion company who work around me and my team on a daily basis,

including my team, Jayson Haedrich and Filipino Roy, along with

my producer, Lucas Platt. It is their work that allows me the oppor-

tunity to reach out into the world and touch people. It’s that expo-

sure that gave me the ability to even write a book that someone

might want to read.

a c k n ow l e d g m e n t s

322

I specifically want to shout out to David Houts, my executive

producer. Despite my trouble with Mexico and the ensuing produc-

tion problems that have delayed our shoots, they made space in my

life, at their cost, so I could write this book. They allowed me days

off and travel when I should have been working. They allowed Beth

to be sidetracked by research and legal for the book while we were

hunting and shooting shows, and they even allowed Laura and Alan

to ride along and participate on our hunts—something very few

people have been privy to.

There are many people at A&E who need to be thanked for the

show but, in regards to the book, I also want to thank Neil Cohen,

the executive at the network who oversees our show. They were prob-

ably breathing down Neil’s neck constantly but had the class never to

suggest directly to me that the “show must go on” and the book

could wait. He’s our great supporter and we appreciate his every mo-

ment fighting for us and my dream to have a television show and a

book of my own.

I also want to personally, and in writing, say “thank you” to An-

drew Dunn, who chose us when he had other bounty hunters to

choose from. We will always remember what he did for us and how

he changed our lives forever. We are indebted to you, Andrew, and

you will have a special place in our hearts until the end.

Mostly, I have to thank the Lord and His love and the wonderful

family He has given me. I try to keep all my babies as close to my

side as possible, as it’s my family that keeps a smile on my face and

purpose in my life. I hope my children understand the lessons of the

life I have led and that there is good and evil in many forms. I hope

they circumvent many of my own experiences by listening to Dad’s

stories rather than making the mistakes I made. I love each of them

desperately and I’ve given them all I can—my legacy. If I’ve left you

any money, it’s a terrible miscalculation on my part. May God be

with you and your families long after your daddy is gone.

Duane “Dog” Chapman

August 7, 2007

About the Author

Duane “Dog” Chapman
is the famed bounty hunter featured on

A&E’s
Dog the Bounty Hunter
reality show. He lives with his wife and

children in Hawaii.

Credits

Design by Renato Stanisic

Copyright

YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE. Copyright © 2007 Dog TBH

Corporation. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American

Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been

granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text

of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced,

transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or

introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or

by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter

invented, without the express written permission of Hyperion e-books.

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader September 2007

ISBN 978-1-4013-8924-6

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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