Canadian authorities have launched an animal cruelty investigation after a dog was discovered encased inside a block of ice on a man’s front lawn.

The dead dog was discovered by the homeowner on January 15, said Marcie Moriarty, a spokeswoman from the British Columbia animal protection society, adding that the man did not know the dog or how the block of ice arrived on his property.

“It’s a bizarre and very upsetting case,” Ms Moriarty said.

“Inside the block of ice, which looks to have been made from a large rubber bin, was the frozen corpse of a medium-sized black dog.”

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of death.