Two Taranaki dogs were impounded following an attack on a cat which killed it in October 2018. (File Pic)

A court has ordered the destruction of a Taranaki dog after it and another animal attacked and killed a pet cat that had been a man's longtime companion.

Hayden Egan lost the chance to fight for the life of his animal, Rocko, a tan American pit bull terrier cross, after failing to appear in court a number of times on a charge of owning a dog that had attacked a domestic animal.

Egan was found guilty of the charge in August at a hearing which he did not attend.

STUFF An order was made to destroy one of the dogs in June 2019, and on Wednesday, an order was made in New Plymouth District Court to destroy the second.

He also did not attend his sentencing in the New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday, where Judge Chris Sygrove ordered the destruction of Rocko.

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While prosecution had filed sentencing submissions to have the dog destroyed, Egan had provided no arguments to spare Rocko's life, Judge Sygrove said.

An order to destroy the dog of Egan's co-offender Jacinta Bazeley was made on June 25, 2019, when she was sentenced on the same charge, prosecutor Jacob Bourke, appearing for New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), said.

The court heard Bazeley's dog, Chopper, a white American pit bull terrier cross, and Rocko had entered a Waitara property and attacked a ginger cat, named Pharaoh, about 11am on October 9, 2018.

The dogs, which had been returned to Bazeley and Egan only five days prior after they were impounded for not being registered, were seen "ragdolling" Pharaoh in their mouths.

"It used up all nine lives of that cat," Bourke told the court. "The cat was killed."

The complainant chased Chopper and Rocko from his property and phoned animal control.

Meanwhile, the dogs returned to Bazeley and Egan's nearby property and about half an hour later began barking and growling aggressively when a member of the public walked past.

The walker threw his drink bottle at the dogs in the hope they would back off but they continued to growl.

Shortly after, NPDC animal control officers arrived at the cat owner's property and saw Chopper and Rocko running down the street.

When the officers followed the dogs back to Bazeley and Egan's house, Chopper and Rocko continued to bark and growl.

They were eventually caught by the officers using leads and were put in the back of the animal control vehicle.

Bazeley and Egan weren't home at the time but contact was made with Bazeley who then waved the officers down as they were driving back to the pound.

The dogs remained impounded while the court determined their fate.

In his submissions, Bourke said the cat's owner had been devastated by the attack.

"The cat was his longtime companion. He was very fond of it," Bourke said.

In addition to ordering the death of Rocko, Judge Sygrove fined Egan $600 plus court costs and ordered he pay emotional harm reparation of $500 to the complainant.

At Bazeley's sentencing she was also fined $600 and ordered to pay emotional harm reparation of $500.