'DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER' Viewers will see firsthand job of bail-bond enforcers

The bounty hunter has served prison time for first-degree murder.
By FRAZIER MOORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Dog The Bounty Hunter," an unscripted drama series from A & amp;E, will introduce many viewers to the down-and-dirty world of bail-bond enforcers.
More to the point, it brings the audience face-to-face with Duane Chapman, known as "Dog," owner of Da Kine Bail Bonds and a pretty intense fellow.
Himself an ex-con who served time for first-degree murder, Chapman during his quarter-century career has captured more than 6,000 fugitives (including, most famously, convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster last year) -- while building a family business that now includes his wife, Beth; a son, Leland; and a nephew, among others.
Meanwhile, Dog's three children with Beth (age 3, 5 and 11) cheer the team from their Honolulu home for catching the bad guys.
How he works
This is quite a crew, resembling a '80s heavy metal band on a reunion tour. But if Dog appears rough and outrageous, he also displays a sensitive side.
Before the team sets off to nab a fugitive, he leads them in a prayer circle.
"I don't believe in killing and I don't believe in guns," he declares, "but I use my Mace can like it's a .45 pistol," then fires off a few healthy sprays.
Dog has a streak of the social worker in him.
"Let me tell you through experience," he tells a captive listener in all earnestness, "at the end of the criminal rainbow is not a bucket of gold."
And when the day's work is done, he takes everybody for a family outing to the beach.
"Dog The Bounty Hunter," which premieres with two half-hour episodes Tuesday at 10 p.m., is inescapably entertaining, and something truly different in the world of reality TV. (Though not for long: On Sept. 19, HBO weighs in with its own series about bounty hunters, "Family Bonds.")