BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. -- A Boulder County woman said her husband had no other choice but to shoot a mountain lion after it attacked one of their dogs and made a move toward him.

Angela and Jeremy Kocar said they will never leave their dogs outside alone again.

The couple, from Wisconsin, has been living near Gross reservoir while Jeremy works on wildfire mitigation.

Angela told 7NEWS that a friend was spending the night last Thursday, so they put the dogs outside and chained them up.

"I heard a growl, then I heard our dog yip," Angela said.

She thought it was raccoons trying to get the dog's food, so she woke her husband, grabbed a flashlight and ran outside.

She came face to face with the mountain lion.

"It was standing right there under the tree branch with my dog in its mouth."

Angela said she dropped the flashlight and froze. She said her husband was also stunned.

"'Oh my God,' were the first words out of his mouth."

She added that, "It (the lion) had him (the dog) at the end of his chain and it was shaking him like he was a rag doll."

Angela said Jeremy tried to scare the mountain lion away, but it wouldn't budge.

"The gentleman did feel threatened," said Jennifer Churchill of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "He ran inside and got his rifle and did come out and was approached by the lion."

That's when he took a shot, Angela said.

Wildlife advocates are irate.

"I think the state should throw the book at him," said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Sinapu, an organization that tries to protect native wildlife.

"He told the Boulder Daily Camera, 'This is how we take care of things in Wisconsin.' And boy that's not how we do things in Colorado," Keefover-Ring said. "We have rules of law. You don't bait animals, you don't shoot out of season."

"He meant that it was a matter of protecting family and our home, not sport, not fun," Angela said. "Those dogs are our babies. They would never have been left outside if we had known (they were in danger.)"

Neighbor Dave Perrin said he's glad Jeremy shot the lion. "It was a rogue cat," Perrin said, "that had attacked several dogs and a miniature horse."

At least two animals were killed.

Perrin's own dog Teton was one that survived. Teton has scars on his chest, shoulder, head and neck.

"Honestly, if you're going to live in lion country you need to be a responsible pet owner," Churchill said. "So it's really crucial that people put their pets way at night."

Churchill adds that the case is still under investigation. She said Kocar could be charged with an illegal take, and could face a fine upward of $1,400.

Perrin said there's no way Kocar should be charged. He called the man a hero for ridding the neighborhood of a killer.

"I can't thank him enough," Perrin said.

Discuss: What Do You Think About This Story?

Sinapu, an organization dedicated to restoring and protecting native wildlife such as wolves, mountain lions and bears in the American West, has called upon the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Agriculture to charge Kocar with the killing of a mountain lion and with cruelty to animals.

Click here to read more on the story and comments from readers on the Boulder Daily Camera Web site.