Dog owner who fled with her dog after it bit little girl in the face has come forward and is cooperating now

CANADA -- Police say the owner of a dog who bit a girl, 2, at Canada Day celebrations in Lindsay has come forward.

Kawartha Lakes Police say when the dog owner learned police were trying to find her she contacted police. She is fully co-operating with the investigation, police say.

Yeah, she's cooperating now because someone probably told her they would turn her in if she didn't do it herself. If it were a misunderstanding that she had 'fled the scene', say for example she wanted to secure her dog inside her car before dealing with the situation, she would've contacted authorities as soon as she did that so that they would have her contact information for when the little girl's family called in. But she didn't do that.

At this time there is no public health concern, police say, but the investigation is ongoing.

The victim's father, who asked not to be identified, told myKawartha.com he is thankful to KLPS and everyone who took the time to read and share the story on social media.

He says "it's great news" his daughter won't need any further medical attention.

The girl was bit in the face by a "large shepherd type" dog around 9:30 p.m. at Wilson Fields on Wednesday (July 1), according to police.

Police say the girl's parents immediately drove to the hospital and did not get any information on the dog or its owners.

The father said Thursday (July 2) the bite caused excessive bleeding and bruising and that the dog's owners fled the area.

As of Thursday afternoon, the toddler's father said she was recovering well. The bruising had gone down and she was left with a cut to the corner of her mouth. 

"She'll be fine," he says, adding that his main concern was that if the bite was a little higher it would have hit her eye.

The concerned father says, being a typical two-year-old, his daughter saw the dog near where they were sitting and wanted to say hi. At first he was hesitant, he says, but the owners assured him she could pet the dog. When she tried to pat the dog on the head, he says the dog bit her face.

As he and his daughter made their way to the car to go to the hospital, he says he asked his wife to go back and exchange information with the owners. When she got back to where they had been, he says the owners had left.

(My Kawartha - July 2, 2015)