PORT ALBERNI -- A Vancouver Island mother said Monday she's finally satisfied by the response of school officials after her seven-year-old daughter was bitten by a police dog at her school.
Angelina England, a Grade 2 student at Winchelsea elementary school in Parksville, suffered minor puncture wounds to her abdomen on Thursday after being nipped by police dog Max from the Port Alberni RCMP detachment.
Her mother, Tony England, initially said the response of school officials was "completely unacceptable" and that she got "no answers at all" until her daughter's story was broadcast.
The dog and its handler, Const. Bruce McLellan, were visiting the school to give a special presentation to students.
"From what I understand, the girl got a bit close," said Sgt. Lee Omilusik, spokesman for Port Alberni RCMP. "Bruce saw the dog sniffing her shirt and he didn't think anything of it until the girl screamed."
"The skin was broken and it required treatment," England said. "I was told my daughter had been nipped. They put an ice pack on it and treated it as if nothing had happened."
But England met with school officials Monday and said they had come to "a really happy conclusion" and she had been assured "nothing like this would happen again."
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