Phophinder, Dion Shergill front court over Winchelsea dog attack

A Winchelsea woman has told a court of the savage attack by two dogs that left her in an induced coma, needing nine operations during a six-week hospital stay.

A woman was attacked by two American Staffordshire terriers on Trebeck Crt in Winchelsea on May 9, last year.

A Winchelsea woman feared she would die as she tried to fight off two dogs in a savage attack that left her in hospital for six weeks, needing nine operations, a court has heard.

Father and son Phophinder, 63, and Dion, 28, Shergill appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday for a contested hearing as the alleged owners of the animals that viciously mauled the woman in Trebeck Court, Winchelsea on May 9 last year.

Dion Shergill was represented by barrister Gordon Chisholm, while his father represented himself.

Under examination by prosecutor Raoul Stransky, representing the Surf Coast Shire, the victim told the court she recognised the two dogs that attacked her as belonging to a specific property on Trebeck Crt.

Phophinder Shergill. Picture: Facebook

The dogs were described as American Staffordshire terriers, with one being black and smaller, and another lighter, or “grey”, and larger.

The woman told the court the dogs had attacked her dog on a previous occasion in the same spot, about a year before she was mauled.

Following the incident, the court heard the woman avoided the property for a while and would then “carry a stick” when she ran past it.

At about 4am on May 9, she came face-to-face with the dogs again on her morning run. she said they were staring and growling at her in the dark.

The attack came “very, very fast” – the larger, lighter-coloured dog grabbing her left leg, pulling her to the ground; the smaller, darker dog ran around her, biting her in multiple places.

“It focused on the back of my head, my scalp, and it chewed my ear … it bit me on my upper arms and elbows,” she said.

Dion Shergill. Picture: Facebook

She used her right leg to try and kick the bigger dog, but it “didn’t have any effect”.

She tried punching when her arms were free, attempting to defend herself until she lost energy and just put her hands up to try to protect herself.

The court heard the woman was scared nobody would hear her screams and come to her aid and she feared she would be mauled to death.

Eventually, two police officers responding to reports of dogs barking and a woman screaming did arrive on the scene. They had to pepper spray the animals to rescue her.

Following the attack, the woman spent six weeks in hospital, including several days in an induced coma, and underwent nine operations, the court heard.

The lighter dog allegedly caused “extensive damage” to the woman’s leg, which required a vein transplant and skin and muscle grafts.
She told the court she had lost mobility in that leg, and hadn’t been able to run anymore.

Neither Shergill disputed that the victim was attacked by two dogs or sustained the injuries she did, however the identity of the dogs was in dispute.

Mr Chisholm cross-examined the woman, noting she had described the dogs as pit bulls in her police statement, in which she also made no mention of one of the dogs being lighter and one darker.

Mr Chisholm asked the woman if she was prepared to accept that she might be mistaken about the dogs belonging to the Shergills, or she may have been “confused” about the dogs’ identities during the attack, asking: “You don’t accept there was any uncertainty by you?”

“I have no uncertainty,” the victim said.

Following the victim’s evidence, the court heard evidence from one of the police officers who responded to the call, who testified that he, too, recognised the dogs, having encountered them at the Shergills’ property on three occasions.

The hearing will resume on Monday.

Originally published as Phophinder, Dion Shergill front court over Winchelsea dog attack