Portland pastry chef MAULED by pit bull; dog’s handler tries to flee but ODs on fentanyl as police close in

Portland Pastry chef Cheryl Wakerhauser is recovering after being mauled by a dog on Monday.

Wakerhauser is the owner of pastry shop Pix Patisserie and told KATU she was out for a run along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard when she was attacked by a pit bull.



According to Wakerhauser, the dog was off-leash in a parking lot of a vacant building that is surrounded by a chain-link fence, grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground, and attacked her arm and legs.

As a result of the attack, the pastry chef has over 35 puncture wounds.

She told the outlet, “The arm, the leg, the other leg, I was just trying to put my foot in front of him and wave at cars that were driving by. And I start looking around, and I started saying, like, I’m on the ground. I started screaming for help like I was having a nightmare, like, ‘Help me, somebody help me,’ and in a nightmare, you’re screaming but nobody can hear you. I felt like that.”

A driver saw what was happening, flipped a U-turn, and honked her horn to try to scare the dog off, while simultaneously a man with a leash walked up, claimed it wasn’t his dog, but led the dog away.

KATU reported that another witness followed the man and dog and later led law enforcement to them.

According to the police, the pit bull is named “Bubbie” and was taken away by animal control.

The Portland Police Bureau said that the dog's handler/suspect had been arrested and booked on the day of the attack. According to law enforcement, the suspect, identified as Theron D. Bates, who is homeless, turned the dog over to officers and then tried to flee, but ingested fentanyl shortly afterward and overdosed. Police administered naloxone and took him for medical care before booking him into jail on a warrant.

However, Bates is not the owner of the dog. According to police, the pit bull is owned by Jessie Miller, another homeless person and Bates was "babysitting" the dog.

KATU reported that "Bubbie" was taken by Multnomah County Animal Services for a mandatory 10-day quarantine and bite investigation. Yet Miller and his mother Marie somehow managed to convince Animal Services to let the dog quarantine at Marie's home and on April 17 the pit bull was transferred to Marie Miller who then turned the dog over to her son.

The location of Jesse Miller and the dog is currently unknown, and police have been unable to locate him as he does not have a permanent address.

Wakerhauser took to Instagram, posted a picture of her arm, and wrote, "This is the reality folks. Could have happened to anyone in Portland. I am sure many of you have your own images of how recent events in Portland have affected your personal life, your business, and your community in a negative way."

She then encouraged her followers to send "Portland Postcards" of their own injuries and troubles to the city's Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler.

"The homeless crisis in this city is OUT OF CONTROL," she added in another post. "This is not just about eyesore camps and trash. More importantly, it is about public safety, mental health, peace of mind and quality of life for all of us all, the housed and unhoused. Over and over again, the city government has promised change. There is always a (taxpayer funded) “plan” and “goal”. But when are we going to see any real change?"