After just months following his wife’s death, Duane “Dog” Chapman, the star of Dog’s Most Wanted and Dog the Bounty Hunter reveals that he’s facing his own medical issues. The bounty hunter revealed that his diagnosis was that he was suffering from a pulmonary embolism in his heart.
Dog is a world-famous bounty hunter who pursues fugitives from his home state in Colorado all the way to Hawaii. Since 2004, Dog, his wife, and sons have been tracking down bad guys. His new series, Dog’s Most Wanted for WGN America, has been following Dog as he chases down the harder, more dangerous criminals. The show has also shown the more private side of their life, most importantly Beth’s battle with cancer. It’s been an emotional few months for Dog as his wife and partner in crime, Beth, passed away at the age of 51 on June 26th after fighting a long and painful battle with stage 4 throat cancer. Dog has been mourning the loss of his wife has been clearly shaken up by the changes, even vowing to never marry again.
Just two months after Beth’s passing, Dog was admitted to a Denver hospital after he had complained of chest pain, the results concluded that he didn’t suffer from a heart attack and they ordered tests to be done. Two weeks later, the 66-year-old bounty hunter revealed on The Dr. Oz Show (via People) that what really happened was a pulmonary embolism in his heart - a “life-threatening” condition in which one or more arteries has been blocked by blood. Dr. Oz went to visit Dog at his home in Denver, he listened to his story. The doctor said to Dog, “You’re a ticking time bomb.” Dr. Oz explained that he’s “not going to be here with the heart the way it is right now.” The doctor then went on to explain that “fear of death is normal.” The doctor said on the clip, “I’m surprised you don’t fear death when you’re chasing after convicts. But when you run away from doctor, that means you have to do your own doctoring.”
After the diagnosis, Dr. Oz spoke to People further about Dog’s health, saying, that he believes that Dog was “denying care that he knew would be life saving.” He believes he did it because after the death of his beloved wife was too much for him to handle. Dr. Oz said, “[Duane] was fearful… Beth had been his north star. She was the one that would go with him and keep him balanced so he could deal with these things. Losing her took away his biggest support.” Dog, who’s admittedly hesitant of doctors and hospitals, admitted that he wasn’t too keen on getting help at first, saying, “I hesitated for a minute thinking, I don’t want to have to go through this again.” Then he realized, “I don’t want to die right now. I’m not afraid to die anymore, but I really didn’t care for awhile if something would happen. I do care now.” Dog is now on blood thinner, eating healthier, and is working on kicking his smoking habit.
Now that Dog has recognized that he was denying himself the medical attention and care that he needed in order to survive, he is now doing everything he can to be there for his 13 adult children and many grandchildren. He’s well on his way to recovery and is doing the preventative care that is needed so that he can stay out of the hospital for years to come and putting bad guys away on Dogs Most Wanted.
Next: Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Son Opens Up with Emotional Post About Missing His Mom
Source: People
