A Port Moody woman is being praised for her quick-thinking after coming face-to-face with a cougar while walking her dog.

Conservation officers say a woman was charged by a cougar outside her co-op housing complex near Eagle Ridge Hospital on Saturday.

She managed to pull her dog behind her at the same moment, causing the predator to freeze.

"By pulling this dog behind her and standing upright, it's sort of what you're supposed to do when you see a cougar," said Marc Plamondon, a conservation officer. "This cougar most likely saw her as a threat, jumped around and ran - high tailing it out of here."

RCMP were called to the area but couldn't locate the animal.

The cougar is well-known in the neighbourhood, with posts on Facebook from people saying they've seen the animal or come across its footprints.

The woman involved in the encounter did not want to speak to reporters.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Emad Agahi