What Constitutes Humane Treatment?

This is one for the lawyers to debate over martini’s of course, but I felt bold enough to propose this discussion for whomever cares.

The “neighbor” who lives behind me (term used extremely loose here) actually comes to the house about once per week.  The other six days it sits quiet, except for his two dogs: a Beagle and a black Lab.  They remain outdoors 24 x 7 x 365 regardless of weather.  I mean that most sincerely.  Heavy rain (including Nor-Easter storms, hurricanes, etc.), snow and ice, strong wind, extreme heat (above 95), day and night.  They remain outside in the yard.  They also bark 24 x 7 x 365.  I’ve called the city and the animal control folks, but they say the same thing every time they stop by to check on it:

“He left food out and they have a cover to hide under, so there’s nothing more we can do.  They are being cared for.”

I’m sure that last night when the temperature dropped into the upper 20’s (F) that their bowl of “water” was anything but liquified.  How they survive is beyond my comprehension given the lack of interaction I’ve seen.  In fact, when the “neighbor” does stop by the house, he always does the same thing as if it is a ritual of some kind:

He walks in.  Throws a piece of the food he’s eating on the ground.  When the dogs get excited and jump on him, he kicks them.  He doesn’t nudge or shove them.  He kicks them. 

I have a dream that one day I will look out of my window and see the dogs attack him and chew his nuts off.  I would probably laugh myself so hard I’d pull a muscle, but I wouldn’t call for help until they were done with him.  I think that would be fair.  I wish Mother Nature would take care of this.  Maybe there’s a self-help book for dogs that teaches them to become more confident and more like Pit Bulls.