Vet, 35, upset at wealthy people putting down pets takes his own life
Published: 10:10 GMT, 18 November 2024 |
A 'talented' vet killed himself with a drug used to euthanise pets after becoming increasingly distressed at 'rich' 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.'
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.