Duane “Dog” Chapman has taken some major steps to improve his health after a major scare in September sent him to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism in his heart. The Dog the Bounty Hunter star opened up about the big changes he’s made since nearly losing his life in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, including almost completely cutting out his smoking habit.
“I’m doing much better with my health. I’ve almost quit smoking. That patch is a miracle. It’s just amazing and I’m taking blood thinners for the blood clot in my lung and exercising. I always have worked out every day and I’m double that now,” Chapman admitted. “So yeah, I need to live to get through my mission in life.”
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It hasn’t been easy, having lost wife Beth Chapman in June at the age of 51 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
“What a terrible year I had,” he recalled. “Ended this year with Beth being gone, so I know that 2020 has got to be better cause nothing can be that bad.”
That being said, he is looking forward to the future, planning for Season 2 of Dog’s Most Wanted.
“I’m just gonna kick off the new year. I’m hoping to start season two on Dog’s Most Wanted right after the holidays are over and so I’m gonna be the most bounty hunter they’ve ever seen,” he added. “We’re going to go after all the dangerous, no-good bastards that we can, so I’m kinda looking forward to beating up all the bad guys.”
Chapman is also broadening his horizons, guest starring in his first feature film, a faith-based thrilled titled Hunting God.
“I had fun doing it and my imagination is a little better. You have to imagine that you’re in that zone, you know? So I really, really enjoyed it,” said Chapman, who said despite his history on reality TV, memorizing lines and playing himself in a role was more difficult than I expected. “[But] I really had a great time.”
Photo credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images