The Oct. 23 episode of Dog’s Most Wanted was filmed at the end of May/beginning of June…just weeks before Beth Chapman tragically died of cancer. In the episode, things are noticeably not going well for Beth. She is having trouble talking, and mentions not feeling well more than once. However, she still keeps up her sense of humor, and joins her husband, Dog the Bounty Hunter, in one final hunt. This hunt is particularly special because the pair’s youngest child, Garry Chapman, is joining. However, the family takes a break from chasing the bad guys to send Garry off to prom, and it brings tears to Beth’s eyes.
“I’ve been pretty emotional all day,” she admits. “It’s pretty jarring for me that we’re here with Garry boy. I don’t know. I think when you become empty nesters and your kids start to all fly away, that’s an emotional roller coaster all in itself. I can’t even imagine right now what [Dog] is going through, because I can’t even go there. If I go there, I am immediately in tears.” Dog also gets choked up as he helps his youngest boy get into his tux, and explains that he just wants Garry to remember this moment “as best he can.”
Before the episode ends, Beth opens up about reaching this important milestone with her son, and shares an optimistic view, despite her failing health. “I think that everything is a milestone,” she says. “Every milestone you meet you’e like…yes! I made it to Mother’s Day, I made it to Easter. I’m going to make it to the Fourth of July. We’re just living each day as much as we can to the fullest that we can and trying to hit every milestone that we can. And we’re just going to have fun and love each other and laugh all the day, and when it ends…it ends.”
Unfortunately, as fans know, Beth did not make it to July 4th. She tragically passed away on June 26, 2019, and her last few weeks of life will be documented as Dog’s Most Wanted continues on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on WGN.
