Lynne, that's horrifying. Friends of mine have a tiny dog (I think it is a longhaired chihuahua) which was rescued by a carpenter they knew. He was working at a house, and saw, next house over, this tiny dog in a cage outdoors. Eventually he was bothered enough to take a closer look and realised the dog was half frozen and accompanied by some dead pups. All he could think of was getting her out of there, never mind calling in the law, so he went to the owners and offered them an extravagant amount of cash to sell him the dog, which they did.

She was actually frozen to the cage bottom. He got her out, and a few days later turned her over to my friends, where she lives a pampered, happy indoor life. Sweet pretty dog, and I'm not a fan of tiny dogs. Some humans should be left out in the snow, honestly.