The incident originally happened on April 17, when a homeowner in Pescadero dialed 911 at around 3 a.m. to say an animal had come into her home, taking her Dog. Lenore, a 15-pound Portuguese Podengo was reportedly sleeping at the end of her bed that night. A little blood was reportedly left behind in the home, which led to officials running DNA tests which went on to confirm the dog was taken by a Mountain Lion.

Owner and dog asleep when mountain lion enters the room

Homeowner Victoria Fought was asleep with her daughter and the dog at the time. She had reportedly left the French doors open so her dog could go in and out of the room. She was awoken by the sound of the dog barking and saw a dark shadow come into the room and grab her dog before leaving. Fought reportedly took a flashlight and went to search for her dog, but with no success. She did, however, see wet paw prints at the entrance to her room.

Deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, but found no trace of the dog.

Det. Salvador Zuno, a spokesman for the department, said they also spotted wet paw prints at the entrance to the woman’s bedroom. Police then notified the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), who arrived on the scene some hours later. By then the wet paw prints had dried and a wildlife officer could not find any other obvious signs or tracks of a mountain lion in the area. However, the officer did collect a small drop of blood from the door of the home, which he then took for DNA analysis.

Analysis confirmed presence of mountain lion DNA

Due to the nature of the incident, the officer immediately drove the sample to the CDFW Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento. Forensic analysis on that blood confirmed the DNA was predominantly that of a domestic dog, but there were also trace amounts of mountain lion DNA in the sample.

This went to prove that it was a mountain lion that had entered the woman’s home, taking her dog from her bed.

According to officials with the CDFW, this was extremely rare behavior for a mountain lion, as they are normally elusive by nature and are rarely seen. However, as reported by SFGate, officials did go on to tell residents in the area to be constantly vigilant for any mountain lion activity.

The LA Times reports that property owners in that area are eligible to obtain a permit to hunt and kill any mountain lion seen on their property. However, according to Capt. Patrick Foy of the CDFW Fought did not opt to pursue the permit.

While Fought is devastated at the loss of her dog, she is naturally relieved that she and her daughter were unharmed.