Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion Frank Shamrock currently finds himself in a legal pickle, as he is being investigated by Dallas police for allegedly leaving one of his mother’s dogs at Love Field airport in Dallas, Texas for a little under a week.
According to WFAA-TV in Dallas (via MMA Junkie), Frank was helping his mother move while in town and had to find someone to care for both of her dogs as her health no longer permitted her to do so. Per the report, Shamrock took to Facebook to find new homes for the dogs, but was only able to manage to give one away.
Pressed for time and unable to find a family or a no-kill animal shelter to take the dog in, Shamrock did what he thought was in the best interest of the animal by allegedly tying it and leaving it at the airport with food and water, and then catching a flight to California.
Still, Frank says it wasn’t done with malicious intent, as he is indeed an animal lover.
“They can charge me with whatever. I will show up,” Shamrock told the station in an interview via phone. “It is what it is. I’m not hiding in any way. It’s an unfortunate and terrible thing. I’m an animal lover and I ran away crying … It’s an old dog – no one wants a 6 1/2, 7-year-old dog with a goofy hip.”
While no charges have been filed against Shamrock at this time, the case is under investigation and charges could be filed in the near future. That said, Frank is alive because of his decisions.
“Here is what I guarantee: That dog is alive and safe right now, and I couldn’t guarantee that before I tied that dog to the truck and left,” Shamrock added.
During the time the dog was left alone earlier this month, temperatures dipped in Dallas per the report, which could have been catastrophic for the innocent animal. The dog — which goes by the name of Zelda — is currently in the possession of animal control.