Bounty hunter dogged by fans still makes his catch [The Hutchinson News, Kan.]

May 21--Now that the hype is over and three fugitives have been brought in, Rena Smith doesn't ever want to do it again.

For five days, Duane "Dog" Chapman and his wife, Beth, were in Hutchinson, helping Barb's Bail Bonds owner Barb Carithers and General Manager Rena Smith track down three crooks as part of the bounty hunting couple's new reality television show, "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt."

But the crowds were terrible. People followed their vehicles as Dog and the crew of Barb's went searching for their fugitives. Someone even hit one of Dog's supporting vehicles, causing an accident.

"I was just shocked," Smith said of the crowds and uproar over Dog and Beth. "We probably could have gotten a lot more done and quicker if we hadn't tried to avoid so many people."

They even met him off site a few times, hoping to be discreet.

"But people were watching us all the time," Smith said. "People were following us."

That included during a chase that ended in McPherson. By the time Dog and the crew got to the house where the man was hiding, a crowd had gathered.

The man arrested asked one favor, Smith said. While he didn't mind being on television, he didn't want his picture taken by all the fans. Smith told him she'd walk behind him and have Dog's son Leland walk in front of him to block all the people and snapping cameras and cellphones.

"It was just incredible," she said. "I knew there were people who just love him, but I had no idea. They just went nuts."

For instance, two women kept following them around town until late one night, when Beth and Smith and part of the crew had stopped at a 17th Avenue Kwik Shop for a drink. Beth saw them in the store and confronted them -- telling the women that she and the crew had work to do and to go home, Smith said.

Other reactions to Dog were just as amazing.

"One person told me, 'I almost got ran over by Dog's bus. It was awesome,' " Smith said, adding that another told her she hadn't changed out of the Barb's Bail Bonds shirt she had, for several days.

Some even cried when they met Dog, Smith said.

"I was just so shocked at the reaction, that people would cry when they met Dog," she said. "George (W.) Bush is a person I'd love to meet, but I don't think I would cry if I met him."

Smith said Beth had told her they were hoping the news of their work in town wouldn't have been leaked so fast. They wanted a least one day to be able to work without the limelight of the fans.

Dog and Beth were able to apprehend the three they were searching for, Smith said. A Hutchinson man was found at his new home, a bit bewildered when he opened the door to Dog and television cameras. Another was the man from Canton who led the crew on the chase that ended in the McPherson home.

The last one found in Hutchinson was a woman who, according to Smith, "gave us a run for our money."

They were able to talk her into turning herself in, she said.

Smith said she did have a few clashes with Beth.

"We had a few disagreements," Smith said with a chuckle. "But it all ended well."

Smith said the show is scheduled to air June 2 on CMT.

She doesn't plan to watch it, she said, but added she knew many of the fans would tell her how she did in her first television debut.

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