PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A local business owner was mauled by an off-leash dog earlier this week and when police attempted to stop the dog’s guardian, they said he took fentanyl and overdosed.
In a post on Instagram, Cheryl Wakerhauser, owner and pastry chef at Pix Patisserie, shared that she had been attacked by a dog, which sent her to the emergency room.
“All I’m doing is going for a run and then I got mauled by a dog,” Wakerhauser told KOIN 6. “I have all these scars, probably going to have some mental issues, a bill that will be I don’t know how big.”
Things could’ve been much worse, Wakerhauser said, but thankfully a good Samaritan named Monica came by and honked her horn at the dog.
“I wanna thank Monica if she’s out there because if she hadn’t stopped, it could have been worse,” said Wakerhauser.
According to Portland police, at around 9:27 a.m. on Monday, officers responded to Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard where they found 37-year-old Theron D. Bates walking a dog away from the scene.
Bates put the dog in the back of a police vehicle so they could interview him, authorities said, but then he attempted to run away.
Officers were able to cut Bates off and arrest him, but that’s when police said he took what they believed to be fentanyl and started showing signs of an overdose.
Officials administered Naloxone, and Bates was taken to a hospital. Following his release, Bates was booked on a warrant.
The dog was taken to animal control, while police attempted to find the dog’s owner because according to police notes, Bates was just “babysitting” the dog.
A spokesperson from Multnomah County shared that Animal Services responded to the scene and took the dog, a pit bull named “Bubbie” into their custody.
It was then that authorities said the dog’s owner Jessie Miller, who said that he was houseless, and his mother Marie Miller appeared at the scene.
Animal Services shared that when a bite report comes in, the dog needs to be quarantined for 10 days to ensure it doesn’t have rabies.
Marie Miller said that she could hold the dog at her house in Camas, Washington, authorities said.
On Wednesday, Animal Services said when they checked on the dog’s whereabouts they discovered that Jessie Miller had gone to his mother’s home and taken the dog.
The dog and Miller are currently at large, and Animal Services said they are currently working to locate them.
After the incident, Wakerhauser is calling on the Portland government to address the problems affecting the city.
“There’s squatters living in the houses, break-ins, random people in delusions coming up to my neighbors’ doors not knowing where they are,” said Wakerhauser.
She told KOIN 6 she wants to see real action being taken and not just “empty words.”
“Not a bunch of empty words and promises. I feel like no one wants to take responsibility. I’m not the mayor, I don’t have the answer,” Wakerhauser emphasized. How do you think you’re doing? Do you think you’re doing a good job? If the answer’s no, maybe you should get out and let someone else try.”
In a statement from the Mayor’s office, Mayor Wheeler and Commissioner Rubio said that they remain focused on cleaning up the city and holding vacant property owners accountable.
Most property owners are doing the right thing, even when they are facing the challenges of vacancies. For that, we thank them, and we appreciate the difficulty of vacant spaces. Abandoned buildings are inherently dangerous and more so in our current era. Fires among these buildings and other criminal behavior make these spaces a danger to all those around them and we are directing the Portland Environmental Management Office (PEMO) to identify the most dangerous buildings across the city and take immediate abatement action or initiative immediate code enforcement action through BDS, with the appropriate involvement from partner bureaus including police and fire. These instances of fires, drug dealing, unabated graffiti, and squatters cannot continue, and together we remain focused on cleaning them up and keeping property owners accountable.