John Ellis found it ‘destroying’, his mother told the inquest (Picture: Daily Mail)
A young vet killed himself after becoming increasingly distressed at customers unnecessarily asking him to put their animals down, an inquest heard.
Dr John Ellis, 35, was upset that people with ‘brand new’ cars parked outside his surgery wouldn’t pay to help their animals, a coroner was told.
Before his death, Dr Ellis told his mother clients who couldn’t afford to pay for treatment often brought their pets in ‘too late’ for anything to be done.
Dr Ellis’ mum, 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.
Dr Ellis was experiencing stress both personally and professionally (Picture: Daily Mail)
Winchester Coroner’s Court, Hants, was told that 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 that 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.’
‘He was finding that destroying,’ she 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 financial and sleeping troubles.
Mrs Ellis told the inquest: ‘All of those things completely built up and he was finding it difficult.’
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.
Mr James, a radiographer, told the hearing that he did not know that Dr Ellis had been cheating on him until after his death.
On the evening of November 6, 2022, Dr Ellis, 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 that 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.’
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Source:: Metro