A & amp;E NETWORK Bounty hunter gets TV series

Some worry the show will represent a bad image of the business.
By JESSICA KEATING
SCRIPPS HOWARD
The bounty hunter who calls himself "Dog" is finally having his day.
A year after a Ventura County, Calif., judge ruled Duane "Dog" Chapman would get no part of the $1 million bail forfeited by convicted rapist Andrew Luster, whom Chapman sniffed out in Mexico, a cable network has offered the theatrical bounty hunter a different kind of compensation: his own reality-television series.
"Dog the Bounty Hunter," a 12-part series, will begin airing Aug. 31 on the A & amp;E Network.
Chapman grabbed headlines last year when he tracked then-fugitive Luster to his Puerto Vallarta hideout. The bounty hunter was hailed by some as the reason Luster, convicted in absentia on rape charges, is now serving a 124-year sentence in state prison.
Criticism
But others in the bail-recovery industry have criticized Chapman's motives. They say "Dog" is a different kind of hound.
"There's so much nonsense, but the TV media just eats it up," said Bob Burton, director of training at the Chicago-based National Institute of Bail Enforcement. "He's show and tell."
According to Burton, Chapman doesn't have much of a reputation in the world of bail enforcement. His colleagues don't like Chapman's mullet haircut, his tight, black shirts or any other part of the former felon's he-man image.
"We don't view him as a threat, either personally or professionally," Burton said. "But I am concerned that he will be shown as an over-macho, overblown example of people in our business."
In a written statement, A & amp;E promised to show the "wild-and-woolly" life of Chapman and his wife and business partner, Beth Smith.
Each half-hour segment will feature the home and professional life of Chapman, as well as his relationships with Smith and his 12 children.