If it's not illegal to do that to animal, it should be, and Baltimore should change the law.
Morally reprehensible doesn't begin to describe what happened to that dog.
Dogs and cats know when they're loved and when they're not. They dang sure know when they're being mistreated. That's one reason owning rescues is so rewarding. They know what you did for them.
There's no doubt in my mind Taz had a sad short life, and knew he was going to die sick, in a stinking cage, alone. There's also no doubt that he knew other dogs weren't neglected like he was. Dogs can feel despair, and he no doubt felt it for a long time before the end finally, mercifully, came.
Anybody who mistreats anyone else or anything that can't fight back deserves to be put in that position themselves, buried in whale feces at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
When his own time on this earth is done, I hope a healthy Taz is waiting for Cody just outside the gates of hell. If any creature ever deserved to taste cold revenge, it's Taz.