I have lived in several states during my lifetime and it is against the law in all of them for an owner not to provide shelter for a dog that is tied outside. Of course it is also a law that they must be provided food and water. If any one of those things are not being provided the police or dog warden must warn the owner or take the dog. I know no one has been there to see what conditions this dog is living under so maybe someone could find out. Perhaps the OP could have friends and family continue to call the animal control and or police so that they will send someone to investigate. From what I have seen on craigslist and newspapers there are a lot of pets being dumped. Few are finding homes and the shelters are full. It used to be that every town took care of the strays but it seems that no one wants to spend the money to contain the problem anymore. Whats worse is the majority of these animals are not even strays, they are owned by people who don't want to take care of them!
