![\"Laura](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772095943_534_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nA Glendale nurse practitioner is warning area residents to be on alert for a mountain lion that attacked and dragged away her dog Monday evening just outside her home.<\/p>\n
Laura McVay, who works in palliative care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said the big cat snatched her brown 5\u00bd-year-old, pint-sized shih tzu named Declan around 11:30 p.m. mere \u201cfeet away from the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy shih tzu was a bright light and just fun and funny and had a great personality and everyone loved and adored him,\u201d McVay said. \u201cLosing a dog is always hard, but when it\u2019s such a sweet soul like he was, it\u2019s especially hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
McVay said she had taken Declan out for his final restroom walk of the night when the attack occurred.<\/p>\n
The pair were walking back home when McVay said she felt a pull and a \u201cwhoosh\u201d from behind.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Laura McVay and her shih tzu, Declan, who was snatched away by a mountain lion in the foothills of Glendale on Monday.<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Laura McVay)<\/p>\n
The cat\u2019s jaws were around Declan.<\/p>\n
McVay initially yelled and tried to make herself bigger to startle away the predator. Those efforts weren\u2019t enough, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so strong,\u201d McVay said of the cougar. \u201cI\u2019m pulling his leash and screaming and trying to do everything you\u2019re told to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the heat of the moment, McVay said she wasn\u2019t sure if she let go or if the mountain lion ripped Declan out of the leash, but the cat pulled away its prey and scurried back into the nearby foothills.<\/p>\n
She said that, as her adrenaline was pumping, she didn\u2019t fear for her personal safety, \u201cthough in retrospect, maybe I should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the attack, \u201cI kind of was in shock,\u201d McVay said. \u201cI called my best friend and she talked me down and tried to console me.\u201d<\/p>\n
McVay said she went to bed in grief and unsure what action to take next. She eventually filed an attack report with California\u2019s Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n
Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Cort Klopping said a department biologist headed to the area of the Verdugo Mountains where the attack occurred to investigate and spoke with McVay.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the description given, I think it\u2019s safe to say it was a mountain lion,\u201d Klopping said. \u201cIt seems like a terrifying experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klopping added that although there had been no reports of mountain lion attacks in the immediate area, the Verdugo Mountains are an \u201cisland of robust wildlife habitat\u201d for bears, coyotes and mountain lions.<\/p>\n
He said that the mountain lion\u2019s prey of choice, mule deer, have been less readily available lately, potentially making them look for other sources of food.<\/p>\n
McVay said she hadn\u2019t felt the need to carry a stick or try other methods of defending herself because she had grown up in the area and was only aware of coyotes, which she felt could be easily frightened off. She\u2019d never heard of a mountain lion attack in her area, she said. <\/p>\n
McVay said she wished she had just taken Declan into the backyard to relieve himself but knew how much her shih tzu loved an outdoor walk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can give any advice, it\u2019s to carry a bat or weapon to protect you and your animal,\u201d McVay said. \u201cIf I can save at least one life, that will help me make this right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are a few tips from the Fish and Wildlife Department:<\/p>\n