A 35-year-old veterinarian took his own life after enduring significant stress in both his personal and professional life. His mental struggles were partly attributed to customers neglecting their pets and having them unnecessarily euthanized.

Trigger warning: suicide

Dr. John Ellis reportedly requested a large dose of a drug used to euthanize pets from a colleague, claiming he needed it to put down a friend’s “large dog.”

Instead, he used the deadly medication to end his life via an intravenous drip. His father compared the ease of access to the drug to giving Dr. Ellis “a loaded gun.”

Dr. John Ellis, a veterinarian from Winchester, UK, ended his life at the age of 35 by injecting himself with a medication used to euthanize pets

Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash

Dr. Ellis was a resident at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, Winchester, UK, at the time of his death.

Tina Ellis, the vet’s mother, testified at a hearing that her son was deeply stressed by customers who, despite having the financial means, neglected to take care of their pets, instead bringing them to be euthanized rather than addressing preventable health issues.

Dr. Ellis had reportedly 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.

“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.”

Image credits: Animed Vets

Tina said her son “was finding that destroying.” Additionally, she mentioned that Dr. Ellis was under financial pressure and that “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 cheating on his partner of 12 years, Ashley James, with another man, Ryan Hunt, as per The DailyMail.

According to Alex MacDonald, director of Animed—the practice where the vet who had acquired the drugs he used to take his own life worked— Dr. Ellis was “almost living a double life.”

Dr. Ellis reportedly told his mother, Tina, that many customers would ask for their pets to be put down instead of addressing preventable health issues

Image credits: Animed Vets

On November 6, 2022, Dr. Ellis reportedly told James that he was going to pick up some food and a package from Animed. When he got to the practice, he told a nurse he had been permitted to take home medication to put down a friend’s dog.

The vet then went to the house of a friend who was on holiday in Tenerife at the time, the inquest heard.

He called James and told him that “he had done something stupid” and that he “loved [him],” the man told the inquest.

The veterinarian also called Hunt, his lover, who told the inquest, “He said he wasn’t going to hurt me anymore, and hung up the phone.”

“Time with John never failed to make your day a brighter one. He will be terribly missed by all who knew him,” wrote his colleagues at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists

Image credits: Sniff & Co. The Dog Grooming Vet Nurse

Dr. Ellis was found in the back bathroom of the house and was taken to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester. Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead in the early hours of November 7.

The inquest heard that Dr. Ellis told his mother he was planning to break up with James and had been sleeping poorly before he ended his life. According to Tina Ellis, her son would sleep in his car while he was on call.

Simon Burge, assistant coroner for Hampshire, expressed concerns about the ease of access to lethal medications available to Dr. Ellis and other health professionals.

“He was able to access the drug, which he knew to be dangerous, without being challenged as to its purpose,” Burge stated in a Prevention of Future Deaths report addressed to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Dr. Ellis also dealt with personal issues related to his relationship

Image credits: Sniff & Co. The Dog Grooming Vet Nurse

“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. 

“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.”

Dr. Ellis’ family said they will remember the veterinarian for “his warmth, generosity, and genuine love for animals.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or suicide ideation, help is available. International Hotlines provide resources.

People sent their condolences to the young veterinarian’s family

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