Being the publicist for Duane "Dog" Chapman means becoming part of the Chapman family. I realized that early on and was not sure I was ready to be thrust into the rollercoaster world of a family of very colorful bounty hunters. But there I was.

I met Duane, Beth and Tim in an airport elevator just before the first press conference I called on their behalf when Dog returned from California after his ordeal in a Mexican jail, following his capture of serial rapist Andrew Luster. Sharon Osbourne (yes, Ozzy's wife) and her friend Frankie Leigh befriended the Chapmans in L.A. and asked me to call a press conference for his homecoming because they felt he deserved "a hero's welcome."

I had been following the story on the news and admired "the Dog" for getting this nightmare named Luster out of circulation, so I happily accepted this one task as my own way of saying thanks.

That was 2003, and I'm still here.

The Mexico ordeal changed "the Dog's" life forever. He was suddenly world-famous and getting offers for his own TV show. In the end, A&E came up the winner, and "Dog the Bounty Hunter" was born. By Season 2, it was the network's top-rated show.

Before production was halted last week, we were in the midst of Season 5. Through the previous four seasons, the public had been invited into the daily lives of Duane "Dog" Chapman and his family. We experienced their myriad ups and downs, including the bounty hunts, a storybook wedding and family tragedies. What you see really is what you get. Dog isn't a "character." He is the man you see on the screen, very human, trying to be the best at what he does, a man taking care of his family.

I prefaced my comments on the recent scandal with a little bit of history, above, so you can understand that I speak here not as his publicist, but as a friend and sister. I have come to have real aloha and admiration over the years for the man I just call "Duane," and I would never feel that for a racist fraud. He is the man millions have come to love and welcome into their living rooms every week, the folk hero who overcame a troubled past, the charismatic speaker who is at once proud and yet quietly humble. I know who he really is. This is why it is disturbing that some people feel everything about Dog is now a fraud.

I do want to make it perfectly clear that as someone who is not black, I would never even try to pretend to understand the feelings of a black person, or the history of hurt and rage that is associated with the derogatory term he used. Someone who is not black could never truly empathize with the black experience.

Dog has learned the hard way that there is never a time for anyone to use the term. I can honestly say that I have never heard him utter that, or any other racist comment, since I've met him.

I am of Hawaiian-Chinese-English descent, and my boy-friend is part-Samoan, and Dog's preacher and close friend is a black American. He has surrounded himself with a rainbow of people. Duane has done nothing but show respect and love to all of us.

His use of pidgin is also not a put-on, as some people have accused. The guy's lived here for more than 15 years and is raising his children here, so I think he's made the kama'aina prerequisite to use pidgin.

Although I'm not excusing his use of the term in any context, it bothers me that this all came to light in a private phone conversation with his son. Who among us could stand the test of having our private conversations made public?

And for those of you who think this is just a PR spin letter, you are mistaken. Dog does not even know I have written this. I would have dumped him as a client long ago if I thought he was a racist. I turn down clients, big and small, all the time.

Dog has apologized. I know in my heart it is a sincere apology, and he has learned a lesson that is life-changing for him. I'd hate to think we live in a world that, once you've made a mistake — even a big one like this — you can never redeem yourself. This is an excellent opportunity for him to learn from this experience and make a sincere effort at making things right again, and perhaps even provide an example to others who also need to learn the same lesson.

Maybe some good can come from all this, as the Rev. Dwight Cook, pastor of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Mapunapuna, pointed out in an Advertiser article. "Old-fashioned sensitivity training is still in vogue when a word like this is used. To televise something like that could go a long way."

Mona K. Wood is the owner of IKAIKA Communications, a local public relations company.