“We know Wallace has a guardian angel because not one of those bullets broke any bones. He does have a broken tooth that will need to be removed, but we’ll wait a few days until he’s a bit more stable,” the shelter wrote on its website about the pooch’s recovery.

“For now, we will show him the Stray Rescue way. Nothing but respect, safety, and love from this moment on.”

According to Stray Rescue, Wallace is already making substantial strides toward a full recovery and is showing off his sweet, cuddly personality to the staff.

“We will remove his tooth and make sure there isn’t any further damage. But this dog absolutely has a guardian angel,” Natalie Thomson, Stray Rescue’s chief communications officer, tells PEOPLE. “The fact that he doesn’t have any broken bones is pretty crazy.”

“He’s about 3 years old, 48 pounds. And he believes he is a lap dog!” adds Thomson.

Additional photos show the dog in the vet’s office following his sedation.

“When Wallace woke up from sedation, Julia was there petting him, so he wouldn’t wake up and be alone or scared. 💖 We got you, strong boy,” Stray Rescue wrote on Facebook on New Year’s Day.

According to Thomson, stories like Wallace’s are heartbreaking — but not uncommon.

“Sadly, we see so many gunshot survivors. We have two in our clinic currently,” she shares. “We typically have at least one in our clinic at all times.”

“Over the years, we have found it is usually the sweetest dogs who are shot, because they will just run right up to anyone,” Thomson adds.