The lawyers had agreed on a settlement under which he was convicted and discharged and ordered to pay the SPCA $400 towards veterinarian treatment for the dog and $130 court costs.
Mr Vanderkolk said on April 16 last year an SPCA inspector visited Bensuade's Opaki Rd property following a complaint about the dog's condition. The 5-year-old named Rob was in a wire kennel and run without water.
Bensuade was advised on how to feed the dog and three months later two SPCA inspectors checked the dog to find it in poor condition with ribs, hips and spine clearly visible under its coat, he said.
"The dog again had no water and its coat was lifeless and had a dirty, dull appearance. The animal was offered a small amount of food, which he ate ravenously," he said.
The dog was removed and taken to a vet who reported it weighed 18.95kg, about 5kg below the expected weight.
"[He] had no fat coverage over the ribs."
The vet concluded because of its condition the dog was not being fed properly, Mr Vanderkolk said.
"As a consequence the animal would have been suffering distress due to significant underfeeding."
Within weeks the dog had gained close to 5kg.
It has since been surrendered to the SPCA by Bensuade and rehomed.
Mr Blathwayt said in defence the dog was a working animal and his client, who had received a head injury in a car crash four or five years ago and wasn't "quite up to spec with mental processes", didn't realise the dog wasn't being fed properly.
The dog hadn't been exercised for about 14 days before being seized by the SPCA. "He thought he was feeding the dog adequately ... he accepts the dog was in a serious condition."
His client hadn't been able to work since the dog had been taken, resulting in a financial loss for him, Mr Blathwayt said.
He asked for Bensuade to be convicted and discharged without further penalty.
Bensuade was not banned from owning an animal.
