A DOG behaviour expert has been drafted in to decide the fate of a police dog that attacked three children after it escaped from its handler's home.
The Alsatian bit two young boys and ripped the clothes of another as they played football in the street in Musselburgh.
The highly-trained dog is being held at Lothian and Borders Police headquarters while a decision is made on what to do with it. One option is to put the dog down.
Police issued a full apology after the incident, which happened last Wednesday at around 4pm on Denholm Road.
A police source said the dog was trained to chase after anything that ran, but didn't bite the children too hard as it probably thought it was just a training exercise.
She added that the dog "should never have been out without its handler".
Police are still trying to find out how the dog, which was not working at the time, managed to get out of the secure facilities where it was being kept.
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