BOULDER, Colo.— Colorado wildlife officials Monday were considering whether a man will face charges in the shooting of a mountain lion that was attacking a puppy.[/b]
The shooting happened about 1:30 a.m. Friday in a home near Gross Reservoir west of Boulder, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said.
People inside the home heard the attack on one of three dogs that were chained outside the house, went outside, and started yelling at the adult mountain lion. That's when the lion headed toward the armed man, who shot the cat.
"We're investigating what will happen to the person who shot the lion," Churchill told the Daily Camera. "We do have laws that allow people to protect their safety and the their livestock. But this is the tricky gray area of it being a dog."
The puppy was expected to survive. Wildlife officials confiscated the mountain lion.
At least two other mountain lion attacks have been reported in the area, including the Sept. 2 death of a pet miniature horse in the Nederland area southwest of Boulder and the death of a 60-pound Australian shepherd in Nederland on Sept. 27.