An animal inspector is on the hunt for the owners of a large dog that seriously injured a cat - after being encouraged to maul the animal.
A man and a woman were walking a "large, muscular dog" through Colonial Knob in Porirua on Monday morning, SPCA Wellington reported.
A 10-year-old cat was stretched out enjoying the sunshine with his owner and friends within the Camp Elsdon boundaries.
When the dog owners saw the cat they told the dog to "sic em" repeatedly and continued to encourage the dog after he had caught the cat.
"The attack lasted approximately 20-30 seconds, and only ended thanks to the quick thinking actions of a fellow camper, who ran towards the dog yelling," SPCA Wellington wrote on its Facebook page.