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This article was published 21/12/2011 (3206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dr. Erika Anseeuw, director of animal health at the Winnipeg Humane Society, with Valour, the last dog standing from Lake St. Martin.

This dog is living up to his name.

Valour, the last of the dogs rescued from the flooded Lake St. Martin reserve last spring, was found shot in the hip and ankle by rifle fire, and it's been a long road to recovery.

One of the 54 dogs that were set up with the Winnipeg Humane Society in June, the rest have been adopted. Turned over to the WHS by the province after the Lake St. Martin Band Council gave them the go-ahead, most of the dogs found foster families and permanent residences by September.

"Leaving your dogs behind (in a flood) is not standard practice in any evacuations now, as people will endanger themselves by going back in to retrieve them," said Winnipeg Humane Society CEO Bill McDonald about the search and rescue earlier this year.

After initially sending up convoys of food to the abandoned dogs in May, the WHS was approached by the province to take over, and seized the dogs mid-June.

"At the end of the day, reserve dogs are owned and not-owned," said McDonald, explaining many roam free on the reserve.

After circulating a photo album of the dogs among the displaced Lake St. Martin residents staying in Winnipeg in an attempt to find their owners, the WHS made arrangements to place the dogs that weren't accounted for.

Once they were deemed strays, the dogs got the usual WHS welcome: a medical exam, a spay and neuter, as well as any necessary medical treatment before being put up for adoption.

"Everything we did with the Lake St. Martin dogs were paid for by the province," explained McDonald, who estimated $17,000 was spent on the animals. The WHS normally charges $15 a day for boarding.

Some Lake St. Martin dogs were out the door in as little as three weeks. Valour is now the last pup standing.

"We still have him when he's not out living with a foster," said McDonald, adding that one more surgery for ligament repair is the final work that needs to be done.

Valour's injuries were severe: the bullet wounds fractured both legs, in addition to causing ligament damage in both legs.

Dr. Erika Anseeuw, director of animal health at the WHS, said the bullet fragments were removed but the bones had to heal before surgery could be done on the ligaments.

The first ligament surgery was done Monday. The second surgery on the other leg will be done when Valour has healed from the first surgery, likely in about two months, she said.

In the meantime, Anseeuw said Valour will be spending Christmas at the humane society and will be fostered in the New Year until he's ready for his second surgery.

"He's really popular and has a lot of fans but no one has approached us yet to adopt him," Anseeuw said.

-- With files from Aldo Santin

laura.beeston@freepress.mb.ca