MOM DOESN’T BLAME POLICE DOG FOR BITING HER DAUGHTER

The mother of a six-year-old girl bitten by a Saskatoon police dog says she doesn’t want the animal to be put down. Leslie Welder’s daughter, Autumn Clifford, was home outside on Saturday when a police dog tracking suspects in a home invasion came around a corner. The police handler had the dog in a harness and on a leash, but the canine was ahead of the officer and latched onto the girl. Welder, pictured, told CKOM Radio that the dog isn’t entirely to blame and shouldn’t be destroyed. “To me, it’s the handler that should have been handling that dog better than he did, and how he did.” Police have said the handler was about three metres behind the dog and heard a cry, but didn’t see the girl get bitten. The girl required several stitches to close wounds on her abdomen.