A ‘talented’ vet killed himself with a drug used to euthanise pets after becoming increasingly distressed at wealthy customers asking him to put their animals down unnecessarily, an inquest heard.
Dr John Ellis was upset that people with ‘brand new’ cars parked outside his surgery wouldn’t pay to help their animals, a coroner was told.
In contrast, the 35-year-old told his mother that clients who couldn’t afford to pay for treatment often brought their pets in too late for anything to be done.
Tina Ellis, a Conservative councillor in Fareham, Hampshire, told an inquest into her son’s death that he found this ‘destroying’.
‘Stressed’ Dr Ellis – who the hearing was told was also leading a ‘double life’ as he had been secretly cheating on his long term partner – tricked a veterinary nurse to give him the deadly medication by falsely claiming he needed it to put down a friend’s ‘large dog’.
Instead, he used the drug to take his own life via an intravenous drip – with Mr Ellis’s father saying the ease of access to the euthanasia drug had been like giving his son ‘a loaded gun’.
Winchester Coroner’s Court was told Dr Ellis, who was working at a practice near the city, was experiencing considerable stress in both his professional and private life at the time of his death in November 2022.
Mrs Ellis told the hearing her son told her: ‘Owners are leaving it too late to come in, they weren’t seeking help early enough for things that could have been quite simple.’
Vet Dr John Ellis, 35, took his own life by taking an amount of drugs used to put down pets
Her son reportedly said: ‘When I’ve got somebody saying they won’t pay to help their animal and they’re sitting there with a brand new car outside, and other people who were really struggling [financially] would do anything to save their animals, but there was nothing they could do because it was already too late.
‘He was finding that destroying,’ a heartbroken Mrs Ellis added.
Dr Ellis was a resident at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists at the time of his death, and told his mother he had been having sleeping troubles.
He would sleep in his car sometimes when he was on call, rather than go home and have to drive to the vets in an emergency, Mrs Ellis told the inquest. Her son was under financial pressure as well, she added.
‘All of those things completely built up and he was finding it difficult,’ she said.
The inquest also heard that for the previous two years Dr Ellis had been secretly cheating on his partner of 12 years, Ashley James, with another man, Ryan Hunt.
Alex MacDonald, director of Animed – the practice where the vet had acquired the drugs he used to end his life – told the inquest Dr Ellis was ‘almost living a double life’
Mr James, a radiographer, told the hearing he did not know that Dr Ellis had been cheating on him until after his death.
‘Stressed’ Dr Ellis tricked a veterinary nurse to give him the deadly medication by falsely claiming he needed it to put down a friend’s ‘large dog’, an inquest heard
On the evening of November 6 2022 the vet – who the inquest heard had informed his mother and a friend of his intention to break up with Mr James – told him that he was going to get some food and pick up a package from Animed.
Once there, he told a nurse he had been given permission to pick up some medication to put down a friend’s dog at home. The inquest heard the dose was sufficient to euthanise a ‘large’ dog.
Dr Ellis then went to the house of a friend who was on holiday in Tenerife at the time.
He called Mr James, who told the inquest that Dr Ellis said ‘he had done something stupid – he told me he loved me’.
He also called Mr Hunt, who told the inquest: ‘He said he wasn’t going to hurt me anymore, and hung up the phone.’
After police were called, Dr Ellis was found in the back bathroom of the house having administered the drugs to himself.
He was taken to the Royal Hampshire County hospital in Winchester but was pronounced dead in the early hours of November 7.
Dr Ellis’s father Robert told the inquest the ease of access to the medication which killed his son made him feel as if his son had access to a ‘loaded gun’.
Recording a verdict of suicide Simon Burge, assistant coroner for Hampshire, said Dr Ellis’s death was ‘a huge waste of a talented life’.
‘It’s a matter of great regret to the family and all his friends that he should have rashly, unnecessarily made the decision that he did.
Dr Ellis was a resident at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists at the time of his death
‘He did it in the context of relationship issues in more than one relationship,’ he said. ‘He was confused by his long term love and perhaps an infatuation for this younger man Ryan, coupled with the considerable stress involved at the residency, from the financial pressures that caused.’
In a Prevention of Future Deaths report addressed to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Mr Burge warned about how Dr Ellis had been able to get hold of the drugs.
‘He used an intravenous line to self-administer a toxic quantity of [the drug], which he had procured by falsely representing to his former employers that he needed it in order to euthanise a large dog.
‘He was able to access the drug, which he knew to be dangerous, without being challenged as to its purpose.
‘Veterinary surgeons, such as the deceased, are able to easily access potentially lethal drugs…without any adequate controls being put in place to prevent their mis-use.
‘The deceased in this case was able to invent a story to the effect that he needed the drug in order to carry out a home visit, the purported purpose of which was to euthanise a large dog.
‘He was given [the drug] by his former employers, without any checks having first been made to verify his account of why it was needed and without scrutiny by another veterinary surgeon.
Dr Ellis was upset that people with ‘brand new’ cars parked outside his surgery wouldn’t pay to help their animals, an inquest heard
‘He was allowed to walk out of the veterinary surgery unaccompanied, with the drug, which he then used to take his own life by means of an intravenous drip.’
In a statement shared by suicide charity Amparo, the family said: ‘Those who knew John will remember him not only for his professional expertise but also for his warmth, generosity, and genuine love for animals.
‘He poured his heart into his work, and his absence leaves a deep void in the lives of all who had the privilege of working with him and knowing him personally.
‘As a family, we are devastated by the loss of John, and we continue to grapple with the heartbreak and shock that come with the death of someone so young and full of potential.
‘We want to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who may be struggling with mental health challenges to seek support and not suffer in silence.
‘No one should feel that they are alone, and we urge everyone to reach out for help if they are in need.’
- For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116 123,visit samaritans.org
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