They followed him to a Dalefield address and when police arrived a short time later, Senior got back in the car and drove towards Lincoln Rd, the court heard.
Police saw him swerving onto the wrong side of the road and tried to stop him but he continued weaving along the road for 2km before stopping.
But instead of waiting to talk to police, he ran away and was caught only when a police dog bit him and he had to be taken to Wairarapa Hospital for treatment. He tried to tell police he wasn't the driver.
A blood sample provided a positive alcohol result of 129mg per 100 millilitres of blood.
At the time the adult alcohol blood limit was 80mg but has since been dropped to only 50mg or 250mcg for breath. It remains zero for drivers under 20.
Lawyer Jock Blathwayt said his client needed intensive help including residential treatment and he knew imprisonment was the only option for the court.
"He is in the grip of alcohol addiction. He has tried various ways. Nothing has worked ... one does not know what one can do in these circumstances," he said.
Judge Morris said Senior had last been jailed in 2012 for drink-driving.
He was a danger on the road, she said.
"Your driving was so erratic the public called police ... it's just fortunate no one was injured or worse, from your driving ... it was bad driving with a high reading."
She sentenced him to 12 months' jail, disqualified him from driving for 18 months and ordered he undertake six months' post-release conditions and a drug dependency programme while in prison.
Senior has already been indefinitely disqualified.
