IRON RIVER, MI - When a sheriff's deputy first called Sarah Erickson about a young dog found with a broken leg and a bullet wound in his head, she assumed they were talking about a dead animal.

"He just keeps wagging his tail like crazy," the deputy told Erickson, who manages the Northwoods Animal Shelter.

That got her attention.

In the last week, the Iron River community in the Upper Peninsula has rallied around the year-old black and white dog named Sarge.

While Michigan State Police are trying to determine who shot the dog and left him for dead along a road, Erickson and her staff at Northwoods are focusing on getting Sarge the help he needs.

He's repaying them in kisses, cuddles and lots of tail wags.

"From the minute the police picked him up, he was kissing their faces, wagging his tail, even though he must have been in excruciating pain," she said.

"This dog is the most fantastic patient of them all. (Helping Sarge) drew our whole community together, but it's had a huge ripple effect. It's spread beyond us."

This goodwill chain started on Jan. 11, when a man on his way to work saw what he thought was a dead dog in the road. He stopped his car and got out to look.

"Sarge picked up his head and looked at him," Erickson said.

Authorities estimate Sarge had been shot and dumped near the road around midnight, surviving hours in the below-freezing temperatures. They believe the 40-pound dog, unable to walk, dragged himself into the street.

The man who found him called his wife, who stayed with Sarge until police arrived.

"It's just a miracle that he survived that night," Erickson said.

When Sarge arrived at Four Seasons Animal Hospital in Iron River, he was hypothermic. The staff there got him stabilized. They determined his leg could likely be saved if they could get him to a veterinary hospital specializing in orthopedics, like the University of Wisconsin at Madison, or Michigan State University. When you're in the western U.P., U-W is closer.

If Sarge's survival on that roadside was a "miracle," his progress since has been nothing short of amazing, Erickson said. He was soon able to stand and walk with his temporary cast.

On Wednesday, Sarge was taken to the U-W veterinary center. He'll stay there for a few days while doctors use a plate and screws to set his fractured elbow.

Authorities believe someone either deliberately broke the dog's leg, or it was broken when he was thrown into the snow.

For now, Sarge's bullet will stay put. When he was shot in the head, the bullet traveled down toward his spine. It remains lodged where his neck meets his chest cavity. The swelling has since gone down.

"He's doing great," said Erickson this week, on her way home from dropping Sarge off in Wisconsin. "The students and doctors there seem to have fallen in love with him."'

A fund has been set up to help Northwoods with Sarge's medical expenses.

Police have said they're continuing a search for suspects in this case, and have some evidence found at the scene.

For more information about Sarge's progress, follow the Northwoods Animal Shelter's Facebook page, where updates are posted regularly.