Mooseheart gets special visit from Dog the Bounty Hunter

TV fame came to Mooseheart Friday afternoon, as reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter visited.

Dog -- also known as Duane Chapman -- spent more than hour shaking hands and answering questions, along with his wife, Beth; son, Leland; and daughter, Lyssa. All work with him in the business, seeking people who have skipped on their bail.

The Mooseheart kids were pretty impressed to see Chapman, with his distinctive long blond hair and MP3-equipped sunglasses.

But it was his work ethic that impressed one fan of his show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" on A&E Television Network, which follows him as he tries to find people.

"Not only are they good at what they do, once they get a task they focus on it. They won't give up on it until it is done … I kind of look up to that," said 16-year-old Brandi Noel of Marseilles.

Chapman was to speak later Friday night and tonight at a Christian rock music concert at the residential school, which serves children from infancy through high school. Many come from homes where a parent is missing, or the parents are unable to care for their children for a variety of reasons. The school is supported by the Loyal Order of Moose fraternal organization.

The 50 or so kids he mingled with in the afternoon were those whose perfect record of not being called to the principal's office this year merited attending a weekly recreation time.

As a bounty hunter, Chapman seeks people who have posted bond as a guarantee they will show up for their trials and then fail to appear. He is hired by the people who paid the bail and are at risk of losing it.

The appearance came about through the concert promoter, rushtour.com. Mooseheart kids attended a concert last spring, and Rushtour officials visited the campus. Impressed, they arranged to have a concert at Mooseheart and got Chapman, a Christian, to give his motivational talk.

Once Chapman found out what Mooseheart does, he arranged to have his Web site, www.dogthebountyhunter.com, collect donations from visitors to give to Mooseheart. They've collected more than $21,000 so far.

And he wanted to meet some of the children.

"It's good for the kids and it's good for me," he said. "It's a good break from chasing criminals, hugging them (the kids) and spreading the love."

"You may not have the same mommy, but you are all in the same family," he told a group of younger children.

Beth was popular, too, with children sidling up to her to ask her if she is a grandma or where she got her silver belt. She noticed one little girl who had chewed her nails: "Don't chew on your nails and you can make them really long like (mine)," she said, displaying her pink manicure. All signed autographs.

A girl asked Chapman what the criminals he catches think about being on TV.

They'll say "I watched you last night on the show," he said. Chapman is known for telling them how they can stop being a criminal and turn their life around. That's what he did after serving time in Texas prison for being an accessory to murder.

"I got my second chance. You've got your first chance," he told one boy.

The Mooseheart visit was filmed by a crew for A&E.

Tickets to tonight's concert

Cost: $12 to $72, plus extra fees for meet-and-greets with the Chapmans

Online: www.candlamerica.com/tickets411.htm/

Tickets are also available at the door

To donate: www.dogthebountyhunter.com