A good day. Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman and his wife, Beth Chapman, have welcomed their first great-grandchild as the reality TV star battles cancer.
“My first great grand baby he’s adorable and he’s precious and he came 5 weeks early to meet me,” Beth, 51, captioned a series of photos on Instagram on Friday, January 25. Beth, who is wearing a black hat covered with flowers along with a black tank top and jeans, can be seen smiling as she holds the tiny baby in a hospital room in Honolulu.
Tagging her grandson Dakota Chapman, 23, who welcomed the baby with his girlfriend, she added, “Nothing more beautiful or inspiring than the birth of a new baby A new Generation of Chapman’s you will be an amazing father I’m very proud of you.”
Beth also tagged Dakota’s father, Leland Chapman, and congratulated him on his “first grand baby,” adding, “It just gets better.” (Leland, 42, is the third of Dog’s 12 children. His mother is the bounty hunter’s first wife, La Fonda Sue Darnall.)
The happy baby news came as Beth started chemotherapy for throat cancer. The couple’s lawyer, Andrew R. Brettler of Lavely & Singer, confirmed to Us Weekly in a statement earlier this month that Beth started treatment in L.A. in December, adding that “they are going well but they certainly take their toll on her.”
The couple, who wed in 2006, are currently shooting their new reality series, Dog’s Most Wanted, and Beth shared a selfie on Tuesday, January 22, as they filmed on the Big Island of Hawaii. “History in the making,” she captioned the photo, adding the hashtags #cancersucks, #stayhumblepray and #itsonlyhair.
“The Chapmans have a lot on their plate right now,” Brettler added. “They just started filming for the new WGN show while Beth’s been going through treatment. Hasn’t been easy but they are keeping a great outlook and Beth is one of the strongest women I know.”
Beth first revealed her stage II throat cancer diagnosis in September 2017, announcing she was cancer-free a few months later. But in November 2018 she underwent emergency surgery and doctors discovered that her cancer had returned and spread to her lungs.
Dog, 66, spoke to Us exclusively in December about remaining strong for his wife as she fights for her life.
“I don’t listen to the bad news. I don’t want to hear it. … I pray a lot, anywhere. I cry all the time,” he told Us. “I’m a sinner. I pray a lot. I have done double that. I constantly ask God to heal my honey and make sure He takes care of it. I’ve been telling Him that I’m going to try and quit smoking and cursing. I’m a dealmaker, and I’ll do anything.”
