Bites worse than barks

FOUR people and two pets have been attacked by police dogs during the last four years, new figures showed today.

Complaints were lodged with Lothian and Borders following the incidents involving animals from the force’s dog section.

The most recent incident reported was in May 2010 when a pet was attacked.

In the previous year, two people were bitten while in 2008 a further two individuals suffered bites along with another pet.

Police dogs are involved in a number of duties, including searching for drugs and being deployed to pursue suspects.

In November last year, a police sniffer dog caught a teenaged robber after tracking him to his hiding place.

David Colley, 17, was snared after the dog was brought in to probe a break-in at a newsagents in Penicuik, Midlothian.