For the first time since losing his wife, Beth Chapman, Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman is smiling again. Beth was only 51 when she died of stage IV lung cancer on June 26, and in the months since, Dog has been grieving heavily.
Now, in a touching Instagram story, Dog and Beth’s youngest daughter, Bonnie Chapman, 20, who recently opened up about her dad’s grief in an interview with SurvivorNet, shared a photo of Dog grinning and added a caption that read, “First time I’ve seen him smile [since] everything happened. Makes me happy to know he’s getting through this.”
“I don’t even think I want to move on,” Doug said in an interview with SurvivorNet. “But I do want to move forward, and that’s an important distinction. I encourage anyone who goes through this journey as a caregiver who then has to face loss to think very carefully about how to move forward.”
Dog Chapman’s experience moving forward isn’t going to be the same as Doug Wendt’s experience–or anyone else’s for that matter. Recovery is a highly personal process, and everyone goes through it in their own way. Coping mechanisms are different for everyone.
Dog Chapman’s Coping Mechanisms — Joy, Purpose, and Family
Dog may be tough on the outside; his fugitive-hunting career, his appearance, and the way he speaks all contribute to an overall “tough-guy” persona that the public associated with Dog. But in a recent interview with SurvivorNet, Bonnie said that in private, her dad was more of a “teddy bear.”
“My father loves people so much and he is such an empathetic soul,” Bonnie said. “And for him right now, the thing that’s been getting him through everything is surrounding himself with the people who really love him. And it’s really nice to see him take comfort in other people.”
Another thing that has been helping Dog, Bonnie said, was spending more quality time with his family. “We’ve started to go fishing together more often as a family,” Bonnie shared. “Making those new memories really help. And to see him start yelling or cheering about how he’s caught a fish or about how he’s got one on the line… it really seems to be helping him get his mind off of things. He has been incredibly strong… but like everyone, we have our good days and our bad days. And when the bad days come, we’re all there for him… because he is an incredibly strong man and we all love him so much.”
Dog also said that pouring himself into his work — bounty hunting and promoting his new series, “Dog’s Most Wanted” on WGN America has been played a tremendous role in helping him get through the toughest days, too.
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