Dog the Bounty Hunter, or Duane Lee Chapman as he’s legally known, is one of the biggest and most infamous reality TV stars of all time. Duane’s show, also entitled Dog the Bounty Hunter ran for eight years and amassed a massive following.
Over the course of his six major relationships, Duane has fathered an impressive thirteen children. But who are Dog’s children? According to People Magazine, Duane’s oldest and first child was born in 1972. Duane welcomed Christopher Michael with then girlfriend, Debbie White.
In 1978, Christopher’s mother committed suicide and he was adopted by the Hecht family. According to The US Sun, Christopher didn’t know Dog was his father until he was 19 years old.
Dog’s second son: Duane Lee Chapman II was born in 1973 to Dog and his first wife: La Fonda Sue Darnall. Duane the second has made many appearances throughout his father’s programs- and also works as a bailsman. Dog’s third son: Leland, born in 1976 also to La Fonda- was also caught up in this alleged dispute.
Leland supposedly left the spin-off show entitled: Dog and Beth: On the Hunt also due to a dispute with Beth. But unlike his older brother: Duane II, Leland was quicker to make amends with his father.
Duane’s fourth child: Zebediah, born in 1980 to Dog and his second wife: Ann Tegnell sadly passed away about a month after his birth. His fifth child is Wes, also born in 1980 to Ann and Dog and also has a strenuous relationship with his father. When Dog and Ann separated, Wes went to live with his biological grandparents. But quickly, he found himself bouncing between different foster homes. According to Wes, his childhood was riddled with abuse- but it made him the man he is today.
Dog and Ann gave birth to his sixth child: James Robert in 1982 and he’s made a few appearances on the show. But very little else is known about him, or what he’s doing with his life nowadays. In 1982, Dog welcomed his seventh child and first daughter: Barbara Katy with his third wife: Lyssa Rae Brittain. Tragically though, Barbara passed away when she was only twenty three years old. She actually died in a car accident the night before Dog and Beth’s wedding.
Dog’s eighth child is Tucker Dee, who was born a year later in 1983 to Dog and Lyssa. Tucker made a few appearances on the show, and is now working on his own as a bounty hunter. Dog’s ninth child: Lyssa Rae was born several years later in 1987 to Dog and Lyssa. She was also featured prominently throughout the original series- but again opted out of appearing on the spin-off.
Feuding
In recent years, Dog’s tenth child and him have had a somewhat public feud that’s called into question his reputation. Bonnie Joanne was born to Dog and his then partner Beth back in 1998.
In the wake of her mother’s death in 2019, Bonnie started a boutique with her younger sister called: Huntress Boutique. Shortly after Beth’s passing- Dog quickly hopped into a new relationship with Francie Frane and Bonnie came to his defense.
But in 2021, Bonnie released a statement about why she wasn’t invited to Dog and Francie’s wedding. According to Bonnie, Dog was upset because of her participation in Black Lives Matter activism. Her statement reads: “I’m sorry, but I can’t defend my Dad’s racism… I have expressed time and time again my ever-growing disappointment in my father’s progression into his old racist ways.”
Dog’s eleventh child: Garry was born in 2001 to Dog and Beth and along with his sisters- he’s always quick to honor the legacy of his late mother, Beth.
Dog and Beth adopted Dog’s twelfth child: Cecily- who was born in 1993. Along with Bonnie, she runs the Huntress Boutique in honor of her late mother.
And for a long time, it seemed like these were Dog’s only twelve children.
But recently, a shocking revelation revealed that Dog actually has a thirteenth child, a son named: Jon.According to Parade, Dog discovered he had another son in June of 2023. Currently, it’s unclear as to how Dog discovered his long lost son- and who Jon’s mother is.
