Horrified couple watch helplessly as mountain lion kills their small dog: ‘I heard his neck crack’

A mountain lion attacked and killed a small dog in front of its horrified owners — who gave chase after hearing it “chomp” down and “crack” their helpless pet’s neck.

Taulere and Arrone Appel told 9 News they were just minutes into a nightly walk with their 10-pound cavachon, Bodhi, near their home in Boulder, Colorado, when the mountain lion attacked just days after their pet’s first birthday.

It “just pounced on him,” Taulere Appel recalled. “And I heard his neck, or something, crack … like a chomp.”

The lion kept the small dog in its mouth and “started running” away from them, said Arrone Appel — who refused to just watch his “baby” being killed.

“I wasn’t just going to let him take him away, and maybe stupidly, I started running after them,” Arrone said.

He tried yanking his dog’s leash, but was overpowered by the wild animal running off with the pooch.

“Mountain lions, they’re just intense and there was nothing I could do,” said Arrone, who was left with a sense of “defeat. Like, how could I help my baby?”

Bodhi’s partially-buried remains were discovered in a neighbor’s backyard a day after the July 25 attack.

The mountain lion that killed Bodhi was safely captured, tagged and relocated on Friday night, Boulder Police announced.

Officials have warned the public not to approach mountain lions, and not to run away if you do see one in a statement shared on social media.