PORTLAND, Ore. — The owner of East Burnside bakery Pix Patisserie recounted to KGW what she called a living nightmare.
“If you look at my legs, it basically looks like someone took a screwdriver and stabbed them about 25 times,” said Cheryl Wakerhauser.
Around 9:15 a.m. on Monday, Wakerhauser was running near Southeast Hawthorne and 45th when a pit bull ran up to her, grabbed her leg, threw her to the ground and bit her repeatedly — "like a piece of meat," she said.
She was left with over 35 puncture wounds from the dog on both of her legs and her right arm.
“When it first started happening, I didn't really know what was happening. My hat came over my eyes and I'm just trying to figure out what's going on,” recounted Wakerhauser. “And then I saw the dog and I'm on the ground and then I just started yelling for help, 'Help, help can anyone help me? Somebody, please help me.'”
The attack was completely unprovoked, Wakerhauser said. She recalled running by a fenced-up, vacant building when she suddenly heard someone shout, "Hey." That's when the dog ran up and latched on.
“I feel like it was dragging my leg this way,” said Wakerhauser. “But (the dog went from) one leg to the other leg to the other leg to the arm, and basically I was holding up my leg in its face waiting for someone to hopefully see and stop.”
Wakerhauser said this went on until a driver passing by started honking their horn. Moments later, Wakerhauser said that a man walked past her, leash in hand, grabbed the dog and ran off — leaving her bleeding on the sidewalk.
“He just said, ‘It’s not my dog’ and then he walks away ... not even asking if I’m okay, if he can do anything,” she said.
Portland police responded and took the dog, turning it over to Multnomah County Animal Services.
Twenty-four hours later, Wakerhauser took to her Pix Patisserie Instagram profile — posting bloody photos of her arm accompanied by the story. The post kept getting taken down to to the graphic photo of her arm, so she eventually replaced it with a photo of Mayor Ted Wheeler. Wakerhauser demanded change in Portland — the place she's called home for the last 21 years.
Her post reads in part:
"The homeless crisis in this city is OUT OF CONTROL. This is not just about eyesore camps and trash. More importantly it is about public safety, mental health, piece of mind and quality of life for all of us all, the housed and unhoused. Over and over again, the city government has promise change. There is always a (taxpayer funded) 'plan' and 'goal.' But when are we going to see any real change? Instead, things in this city continue to get worse daily. I’m sorry but clearing tents and replacing them with a 'skatepark' does nothing to address this city’s homeless crisis. May I also ask, why do so many Portland buildings stand vacant surrounded by chain link fence for years on end in Portland? Structures that attract camping, dumping, vandalism, arson and are in effect, eyesores themselves."
And to the woman who helped scare the dog away?
"Her name is Monica! So Monica, if you're out there, Monica from 52nd. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Because I don't how long it would have gone on or what could have happened," said Wakerhauser.
According to a Multnomah County spokesperson, the pit bull's name is Bubbie. The dog's owner is a homeless man named Jessie Miller, but responding officers noted that someone else had been watching Bubbie, off leash, when the attack happened. That man ran away when police arrived.
The county said that generally when something like this happens, the dog will be placed under a 10-day quarantine to determine how dangerous they are, if they have rabies and whether the owner will be criminally cited. But because Miller is homeless, they let his mom quarantine the dog at her home in Camas.
But on Wednesday, the county said, Animal Services checked on the dog’s whereabouts and found out that Miller went over to his mother’s house while she was at work and took off with the dog.
Animal Services said that they are actively looking for both Miller and Bubbie. The bite investigation is ongoing, with more witnesses needing to be interviewed.
In addition, Multnomah County Animal Services leadership is currently rewriting its policies and procedures to no longer allow community quarantine for dogs accused of severe bites.