A San Luis Obispo woman was injured and her dog is missing after a mountain lion attacked the pair during an evening walk on Saturday.

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The woman and her dog — who KSBY identified as Alysha Periera and a pug named Cupcake — were walking near a dog rest area at 5:30 p.m. when the mountain lion emerged from the nearby creekbed and attacked the two, California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Ken Paglia told The Tribune.

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A neighbor who asked not to be identified said that while he didn’t see the attack happen, he was there for the aftermath.

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“The mountain lion took the dog and kind of dragged (Periera) on the leash,” the neighbor said. “I didn’t see it — I just ran out when I heard the screaming.“

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Periera came away from the attack with minor injuries, the neighbor said, but Cupcake remains missing.

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Fish and Wildlife posts signs warning about mountain lion attack

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Signs have been posted near the spot of the attack, warning passersby of the recent sighting and advising them to contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in the event of a sighting.

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Paglia said the department is now working to trap and relocate the mountain lion.

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Once the mountain lion is trapped, Paglia said, Fish and Wildlife biologists will fit it with a GPS collar, medically assess the cat and relocate it somewhere else in San Luis Obispo County, likely around 60 miles from its current habitat.

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DNA from the mountain lion was recovered from Cupcake’s collar, Paglia said, and will be used to confirm if this mountain lion is the same animal that was sighted in previous encounters over the past several months.

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“We want to give the mountain lion the best shot at living its life as possible, but we also recognize that this is concerning behavior,” Paglia said. “This is escalating behavior we don’t want to happen again.”

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There have been “very, very few attacks statewide,” Paglia said, and there is no evidence that encounters with mountain lions have been on the rise.

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As a lifelong resident, the anonymous neighbor said the increasing sprawl of urban development brings the possibility of more encounters in the future.

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“Every season this happens — they come down into this area because they know it’s easier to grab a cat or a squirrel or a small dog than it is to hunt hibernating animals,” the neighbor said.

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Mountain lion sightings on the rise in SLO County

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Saturday’s incident was the latest in the Laguna Lake area of San Luis Obispo.

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On Nov. 14, a woman and her dog saw a cougar near their home at Laguna Lake Mobile Estates.

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On Nov. 19, mountain biker Rex Hatter encountered a mountain lion while biking on a trail in Irish Hills, causing the city of San Luis Obispo to temporarily close Irish Hills Natural Reserve and Johnson Ranch Open Space trails to public access.

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Then, on Nov. 25, a mountain lion chased Natalie Davis’ dog, Axis, around her backyard off Oceanaire Drive near Drake Circle.

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Over the past three years, there have been more mountain lion sightings than usual in SLO County, The Tribune has reported.

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Since 2018, about 370 reports of SLO County mountain lion sightings have been submitted to local law enforcement agencies and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, The Tribune reported.

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As of early November, 64 reports of cougar sightings had been submitted in 2022.

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“There’s definitely been a recent uptick,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Brandon Swanson previously told The Tribune.

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What to do when you see a cougar

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If you encounter a mountain lion, you should “raise your hands over your head and make yourself look as big as possible while slowly backing away and give the lion a path to leave,” the SLO Parks and Recreation Department said in an Instagram post. “Speak or yell loudly/firmly to sounds ferocious.”

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The agency recommended hiking with a buddy and avoiding trails during the early morning and dusk, when mountain lions are more likely to be on the trails.

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Mackenzie Shuman and Stephanie Zappelli contributed to this report.