Portland woman attacked by dog while walking to work may lose her leg

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A Portland woman who was attacked by a dog while walking to work last week is gearing up for a third surgery as doctors try to save her leg.

Javonnie Johnson was going about her daily routine on Mark 27th, she parked her car here at the Taco Bell on 7th and Broadway and crossed the street to her job at FedEx Office and that is when she said she was attacked.

“All of a sudden, to my right, this dog charges after me. Then he comps down on my leg,” Javonnie said.

Javonnie said she walked by a homeless camp and that is where the dog that attacked her came from. Javonnie said she was  attacked unprovoked and the dog would not let go, and no one tried to help her.

“This whole time this dog is chomping on my leg and no one is coming to help me and I’m just so devastated. No one called 911 no one has done anything at this point,” Javonnie said.

She had to call 911 herself and while she waited for the paramedics to arrive one thing was going through her head.

“I don’t want to lose my foot and as this dog is chomping down I feel my foot going numb and numb and numb,” Javonnie said.

She was taken Legacy Emanuel Hospital. So far, has had two major surgeries in the last week. Including removing all the damaged tissues and moving an artery from her right leg to her left to improve circulation. Plus, she will undergo another surgery on Friday.

“They are going to take tissue and muscle from the back of her leg and bring it to the front,” Javonnie’s daughter, Lashunda Johnson said.

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Lashunda rushed down to Portland from Seattle when she heard her mom was attacked. After she made sure her mom was where she needed to be, Lashunda wanted to know where the dog was.

“I’m told by Multnomah County Animal Services the dog is in custody and I’m told there is a 10 day holding period for the dog to check for rabies and stuff like that,” Lashunda said. “I really hope and pray the dog gets euthanized. Its really surreal.”

And Javonnie hopes the dog owner is held accountable.

“I am ashamed of our city and I’m ashamed of our government. I would like to see if you have a vicious dog they need to have a muzzle on it or you shouldn’t have a dog. Maybe they should ban pitbulls.” Javonnie said. “Accountability, in my opinion, still needs to be had. I don’t feel a homeless person gets a pass. To me they are bad pet owners. Dogs shouldn’t be living in cars, or on the street, why do you have pets if you are on the streets?”

Portland Police said so far no arrests have been made.

As for Javonnie’s leg, she is not sure if she is going to lose it or not, but she is calling on the city to crack down on irresponsible dog owners, specifically homeless dog owners so this does not happen to anyone else.

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