On Saturday, Feb. 11, at approximately 5:30 p.m., San Luis Obispo resident Alysha Periera was walking her dog near Laguna Lake Mobile Estates when she encountered a mountain lion.
Periera was yanked off of her feet as the mountain lion attacked, dragging her dog away from her.
Periera let go of the leash and was able to escape without any serious injuries, but her dog, Cupcake, was gone.
“It took her and took her down the creek. I could hear her yelling, yelling. She was yelling and yelling, and I couldn’t do anything. It was so horrible," Periera explained.
Now, signs in the area warn residents of the mountain lion sighting.
“This is one of the dog parks in the park here. As you can see, we have bags right there for the disposal of doggy waste, but not only that, but a lot of families also come here to sit on the bench and listen to the creek. Children come here almost daily to go down and play in the creek and hike around down there," said neighbor Jeff Krause.
Periera shares her experience in hopes that nobody else has to go through what she did that Saturday night.
“I just want everybody to be safe. I want them to know that possibility is there, that what happened to me can happen to them," Periera said.
In a statement to KSBY News, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said:
"CDFW will make an effort to trap, collar, and relocate the mountain lion to suitable habitat in a more remote setting.
This is possibly the same mountain lion that has been seen in the area a couple of times over the past two months. It is believed to be an adult mountain lion. It’s also possible that there are two mountain lions in the area. San Luis Obispo is a mountain lion habitat... and generally speaking, wherever there are deer there are mountain lions... so the presence of mountain lions itself is not out of the ordinary.
We’d advise anyone who lives in an area with mountain lions to be mindful of that fact and to take appropriate precautions... for example avoid recreating near open areas around dusk and dawn. If you walk your dog, perhaps go in a group."
Signs have been posted around the area to notify people of the attack, and people are being encouraged to notify the Department of Fish and Wildlife of any further sightings at (951) 443-2942.
