Humane Society: Dog found dead, frozen on home's porch

TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio humane society is investigating a case where officials say a dog was found outside a home “frozen solid.”

Officials with the Toledo Area Humane Society told The Toledo Blade that the female dog had curled up and died on the porch of a home.

"I don't know how long she was out there. She was frozen solid," Megan Brown, a humane society cruelty investigator told the newspaper.

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A second dog was inside the home and was removed after officials received a search warrant. That dog was underweight, with his ribs and spine showing, and the house was cold inside, Brown said.

The dogs' owner, Victor Vallejo Sr., said he had checked on the animals two days before they were found and he had left them both inside the home. The house had recently been shut off from utilities, The Blade reported.

The owner told officials that he had financial difficulties. “I’ve been staying here and there at the moment. I kind of fell on some bad times,” he said.

Vallejo said he is not sure how the dog got out.

Brown said neither dog had food or water. There were blankets and a pillow on the porch, but no shelter from the cold, Brown said.

The humane society is considering potential animal cruelty charges against Vallejo, The Blade reported.

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