I did hear about this project.
In fact, when I heard about it, there were also pictures of it.
In the pictures, the dog was indeed visibly malnourished and underfed.

Because of this, I do agree that Vargas was just saying all that jazz about society to cover up the fact that he abused a dog.

Also, when I heard about this story, it was in an exhibit that was open (something like) 18 hours a day. At no time was there ever food given to the dog. Apparently, people also watched it die.
(I will try to find the original article that I'm talking about. If I do, I'll post it here.)

It's a cruel form of art, indeed. I can hardly understand how such a thing can be considered art.

The funny thing is, however, if it were a human in this situation instead of a dog, the uproar would've been way louder.