A pet dog in Hartford, Connecticut, was found frozen to death Monday after being left outside amid frigid temperatures, police said. The motionless pit bull was chained to a doghouse outside the Hartford residence without any protective measures while lying in fecal material.

The Hartford Police Department claimed the pet dog may have been left outside the home for as long as a month before law enforcement came across it, USA Today reported. The dog's owner has been jailed for months on drug-related charges, but he insisted that adequate care arrangements were coordinated.

"The dog showed signs of hypothermia," Deputy Chief Brian Foley said to WTIC-TV. "As morbid as it is, the dog was frozen solid when the officers got it."

The dog was also "underweight for his body size with low body fat and low muscle density...[and] his bones were easily palpable and often visible beneath the skin — his ribs and pelvic bones were prominent," according to a veterinarian report obtained by WTIC-TV.

While animal cruelty charges were expected to be made against the jailed owner this week, police continued to investigate the incident further.

Amid freezing temperatures across the United States, pet owners were warned not to leave animals outdoors.

"Cold weather can be deadly for pets," the Humane Society wrote on its website. "As the temperature plummets in many parts of the country, The Humane Society of the United States sees a marked increase in the number of complaints about dogs and cats who have been left outside with no food or shelter."

"Pets left outside in extreme temperatures, especially without food and shelter, are at risk of hypothermia, frostbite and even death," the Humane Society added.

This isn't the first dog to die in recent months due to extreme cold weather. A three-year-old female dog was found dead Dec. 28 on the front porch of a house in Toledo, Ohio, as temperatures were expected to approach the teens.

RELATED STORIES