CARMEL VALLEY, Calif.- "In a instant all I heard was this "swoosh," I mean he was right here."
Three days later and Patty Small is still shaken up. Sunday night she took her dog, Buster, out for a quick sniff on Southbank Road, when all of a sudden she said a mountain lion came out of nowhere.
"I immediately tried to go down and get my dog and the mountain lion was in my face...I didn't realize what I was doing, all I wanted to do was get my dog."
Patty came face to face with the lion, "So then he pulled the leash taught and was backing up."
The leash slipped off Patty's wrist and the lion was gone with Buster in its mouth.
"I feel responsible because I couldn't save his life and that tears me up the guilt forever."
Patty said what makes this even more tragic is she's now heard about other mountain lion sightings and one that was trapped just up the road from her home in Carmel Valley.
As with any dry winter when water levels are lower, experts say mountain lions will come down to lower lying levels of the valley looking to follow the food source.
"This happened a month ago and I didn't know about it because it wasnt publicized, it's not listed anywhere, it's not posted," said Small.
Patty went door to door to let her neighbors know about Buster's fate, but said Fish and Game should have a website of mountain lion sightings and attacks so communities will be aware.
She said an alert would've made her think twice about taking buster out, "It's horrific, it's horrific because I still see that face every night when it starts to get dark. It's uncomfortable I'm at my kitchen window, I'm at the sink and it's starting to get dark and I can't help but look out here and I see that face every time I look out a window."
Also this week, two show goats were attacked and killed in a Gilroy family's barn. Fish and Game issued a kill permit in that case.
For more information on mountain lions http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/docs/lionbrochure.pdf
