Dogs in the wild survive freezing temps. It sounds like this guy is haveing financial problems. Possible the dog died of natural causes and the it’s corpse froze!!!
Exactly, any mid-large breed can handle near arctic conditions-- breeds with a double coat can survive true arctic conditions. My Chow wanted to sleep outside last night and it was eight degrees; I let her stay out a few hours, sound asleep right on the frozen ground-- not even curled up but spread out with her belly on the ground to stay cool... but eventually I let her in, not because she wanted to come in to be warm, because I wanted her to be on the bed to keep ME warm, lol. She hates staying inside when the wood stove is going.
It also sounds like this guy is pretty irresponsible (dog loose multiple times, (the guy) fails to show up for hearing, story has obvious “holes” in it, other dog not well fed...