It's the stuff of nightmares.
A woman in Pescadero said she was sleeping with her child and her dog when she awoke around 3 a.m. on Monday to the sound of the 15-pound Portuguese Podengo barking aggressively.
When she looked up, she saw "a shadow of an animal" enter the room through the open French doors, take the dog from the foot of the bed and walk out, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
The woman took a flashlight outside to look for the dog but found only large wet paw prints.
After calling 911, deputies came to search the area and said the paw prints resembled those of a mountain lion.