Pitt Meadows sues blueberry farm where customer was mauled to death
Editor’s note: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing
A horrific death at a popular U-pick farm in Metro Vancouver is at the centre of a legal fight after a customer’s mauled body was found among the blueberry bushes.
A year and a half after her death, a second person was found with wounds consistent of an animal attack at the neighbour’s residence — providing more clues about the first death and fuel for a series of negligence lawsuits.
The family of 54-year-old Ping (Amy) Guo is looking for answers after DNA analysis suggested she was attacked and killed by the neighbour’s dogs while picking blueberries in the summer of 2021.
They’re joined by the City of Pitt Meadows, which filed a new notice of civil claim this month naming the blueberry farm, its owners, and the dogs’ owners, one of whom is now deceased, as defendants.
The dogs were euthanized after the death at their owners’ residence in 2023, according to a coroner’s report looking into Guo’s death. That was when authorities learned the DNA on Guo’s body matched that of the two dogs living at the property.
Daily Hive has not confirmed whether the person found dead at the owners’ residence in 2023 was the deceased owner. The identity of that victim has not been released.
Authorities first thought blueberry-picking mom was mauled by bear
Guo was visiting Doremi Blueberry Farm, a popular U-Pick destination on Old Dewdney Trunk Road, on the day she died. Her body was found in the blueberry bushes, and homicide investigators were initially called in because of her traumatic injuries, the coroner’s report said.
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After some investigation, authorities suspected Guo died because she was attacked by an animal. At first, the BC Conservation Service thought she’d been mauled by a black bear.
It was only after the investigation into her death that authorities learned dogs had attacked her. The BC Corner’s Service bowed out of the investigation at that point since they don’t deal with domestic animals.
Two dogs living next door matched saliva on Guo’s body
Doremi Blueberry Farm’s fields are next to the property at 20080 Old Dewdney Trunk Road, where two dogs were living and where a second person was found dead in 2023. (Google Maps)
The blueberry farm’s neighbours, Baljit (Bob) Haer and Diane Susan Clinch, at the time owned two dogs that went by Tina and Bozo, according to the notice of civil claim. DNA evidence suggested it was these same dogs that attacked the blueberry picker.
Authorities learned of the positive match when police were called to the Haer-Clinch residence on January 3, 2023, because of a sudden death.
“Police attended the scene and confirmed that one person had passed. Police observed lacerations and bite marks consistent with an animal attack on the body,” Ridge Meadows RCMP told Daily Hive. “The death is not considered a criminal matter.”
The BC SPCA also attended the scene but declined to comment for this story. The coroner’s report said the two dogs were euthanized on the day of the death.
Haer is now deceased, though it’s not known if he was the one killed in the second attack.
Family and City launch lawsuits
Guo’s family and, more recently, the City of Pitt Meadows have launched suits naming Haer, his wife, the blueberry farm, and its owners, Kae-Chang Doon and Changling Dong, as defendants.
The latest notice of civil claim from Pitt Meadows, filed in early July, argues the blueberry farm’s owners and operators, as well as the dog owner’s negligence, led to Guo’s death — and that her family and the City are owed damages.
The City and Guo’s family argue due care wasn’t taken to ensure people’s safety on the blueberry farm. It argues the defendants knew or ought to have known about the dangerous animals and failed to take necessary preventative measures.
The City argues that Haer and Clinch, the dogs’ owners, failed to keep the animals contained within their property and failed to provide verbal or written warnings to members of the public.
Doremi Blueberry Farm will open to the public for U-Pick activities once again in mid-July. It has not yet responded to a request for comment.
“Due to the winter frost, it will be a late season again this year,” the farm said on Facebook.
The allegations in the notice of civil claim have not been proven in court. The City of Pitt Meadows declined to comment because of privacy concerns and the continuing litigation.
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