Leighton Buzzard vet, 73, who had come out of retirement struck off for failings

Following allegations dating back to 2020, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons held an inquiry and hearing into the actions of Siew Loong Ng MRCV when he had been working at The Little Pets practice and Tilsworth Veterinary Practice.

The 36-page document published in full online included multiple allegations made against the 73-year-old, who had been working as a vet since 1974.

It explained how in January 2020, Mr Loong came out of retirement to take up a locum position as a registered veterinary surgeon at a new practice owned by a relative.

The man was the only veterinary surgeon at the practice, but in 2021 two newly-qualified veterinary surgeons were brought in.

In June of the same year, The Little Pets practice closed but Mr Loong “continued to work from the premises with new staff that he had recruited”. The practice was renamed Tilsworth Veterinary Practice.

In its report, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons called his treatment of cherry eye (where a tear gland in a dog's third eyelid pops out of place) in dogs “deeply concerning and many years out of date”.

The college heard from a staff member at The Little Pets practice. The report read: “She also told the Committee that cherry eye surgery was often carried out before sedation had taken effect.”

He was also found to have failed to keep “adequate records” of a dog (or dogs) he saw on June 3 2021 in relation “to a health passport for Ireland, cherry eye, caesarean section/s and passport/s”.

This was true for his records of a rabbit, named Lily.

Mr Loong was also found to have failed “to offer a reasonable range of options for diagnosis and/or treatment” of a Labradoodle called Barney.

The report explained that he had changed the record of Barney’s consultation on May 14, 2021, six days after the diabetic dog was seen.

The committee said: “The amendment of the clinical record in Barney’s case was particularly serious.

“This alteration was made at a time when the Respondent knew that Barney’s owner was dissatisfied with the treatment Barney had received and was complaining about the lack of therapeutic intervention. The alteration presented a false account of the owner’s attitude towards immediate therapeutic intervention.

“Conduct of this kind was liable to damage trust in the profession.”

Barney’s owner, Michelle Chambers from Hockliffe, said: “In May 2021, Barney — our Labradoodle — became seriously unwell. He was drinking excessively, not eating, and clearly suffering.

“Despite strong signs of diabetes, Michael Ng failed to offer us urgent or appropriate treatment. Instead of recommending insulin, hospitalisation, or referral to a specialist, we were led to believe Barney might have cancer — and were steered by Michael Ng toward euthanasia.

“Heartbroken, we brought Barney home for the weekend to say goodbye. But he improved — just enough for us to cancel the euthanasia and seek help from another vet, who diagnosed diabetes properly and began treatment immediately. Barney’s life was nearly lost unnecessarily through Mr Ng's misdiagnosis.”

The college also heard that between May 2020 and June 30, 2021, Mr Loong “intubated patients for caesarean section when they had only received sedation and not general anaesthesia and begun caesarean surgery without securing the presence of adequately trained assistance”.

This was echoed by another allegation in which Mr Loong performed a caesarean surgery on a six-year-old Dobermann without “informing the owner with adequate notice that [he] did not have any qualified assistance.

Also in the document, it was noted that the vet “stated that he could diagnose cancer just by looking at an animal”.

In his statement, the report stated: “Mr Loong said that he accepted the committee’s findings and now understood that he had behaved dishonestly in the respects set out in the charges.

“He spoke of his sense of shame and regret at the way in which he had allowed the financial dispute with his relative to influence his behaviour.

“The Respondent accepted that his treatment of Barney and Moni was inadequate and that he had allowed his treatment of Cherry Eye to become seriously out of date.”

A spokesperson for the practice said: “The Little Pets ceased trading back in June 2021 and they have no association whatsoever with Tilsworth Veterinary Clinic.

“Tilsworth Veterinary Clinic will continue to trade and the majority of the current staff will continue to work at the clinic. The staff have been trained in the roles they perform in house and under the direction of the practice manager and veterinary surgeons.

"Michael Ng will no longer be offering his services as of 18 July 2025.

“Tilsworth Veterinary Clinic will be employing an additional veterinary surgeon and we will continue to offer our services to our loyal client base.

“It is not correct to suggest the clinic is trading illegally with the current staff and no criticism from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has been directed at any of our staff, who continue to work hard to help our patients and clients.

"There has been a targeted social media campaign which has been very upsetting to all involved, particularly to those who have received no criticism from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.