I want to clarify...

Ok, so I don't normally laugh at dead animals but let me set the scene for why our dead, frozen dog was funny. Pets here in Moldova are very different from pets in the US. Most dogs and cats don't get to come indoors and aren't really petted or played with. I made the mistake early on in my stay here of petting a couple "cute" looking dogs to find out how dirty they are (no matter how cute or clean looking the dog is, it is filthy), and you can see the fleas crawling around in their fur. The two dogs we had at our language school in Ialoveni got used to being pet by the bottom of our feet. They got so used to it one would try to nuzzle under our feet while we were sitting at our tea and cookie breaks. If the dogs here aren't running around in packs looking for tasty people to eat, especially us runners, they are kept behind a fence (everyone here has a fence/gate around their house) on a very short leash, very short. Alot of the dogs have dogs house where they can get shelter from the elements but they more or less have to bear the cold, cold winters here outside. The dogs here are either very, very timid and scared (from being kicked and what not too often) or vicious as hell. I only come across the loose vicious ones every once in a while when I run and the "rock trick" always works. Because so many dogs are used to having rocks thrown at them if they attack all you have to do is bend down and pretend you are picking up a rock and the dog will take off like the Flash. I have gotten surprise attacks a couple times by dogs that run up silently behind me and bark just as they get to me which startles me to scream and jump and that in turn scares the hell out of them and they usually take off.
So anyways, about our dog. I think he was pretty old and may have been kind of sick (not a good combination with the coming winter). So New Years morning I was in the kitchen preparing my breakfast when Dumitru (host bro) went out side with hot water for the dog and pigs. He wasn't gone very long when he came back, looked at me, and said "Cîine a murit", the dog died. There was no sadness in his face, it was as if he just told me it was raining outside. I of course was like "Oh my gosh! What!?" Did I hear him correctly? Was he going to start crying, what do I do? Then Galea (aunt) came in heard what had happened, this time he added that the dog was frozen, and just laughed. This of course made me laugh because how many times does a dog freeze? (It is pretty common here actually). So we all pushed out the door and the dog was just lying outside of his doghouse stiff as a board. The four of us a laughed a bit more and then they said they would just go to the Piaţa and buy a new one. Oh Moldova!