40+ Terrifying Stories of Pets Who Turned on Their Owners

We are all used to seeing primates in captivity, particularly in zoos, but many people have them as pets. Take Travis, for instance — a chimpanzee that actually appeared several times on television with his owner.

However, in 2009, tragedy struck and Travis went crazy, attacking a friend of his owner, as well as some police cars. He eventually ended up being shot and killed. The woman who was attacked had to go in for a wide range of reconstructive surgeries because of the attack.

People across the globe often think it’s cute to dress up their pets. And while it can be cute if your furry friend likes that sort of thing, there are the occasional few that just aren’t OK with this human behavior.

Unfortunately for one Florida woman, her pitbull’s disdain for being dressed up turned fatal. Scarface attacked her in her home, and when someone came to her aid, the dog turned on them also. Eventually, the dog wound up being put to sleep.

When someone says, “I want you to meet my pet,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably a cat or dog, maybe a hamster, or perhaps even a lizard. Very few people would automatically assume that you have a 300+ pound black bear waiting for you at home.

In the case of the Walz family, that’s exactly what they had — a black bear that they had raised since he was a cub. Unfortunately, though, he attacked his owner while she was cleaning his cage.

When most people find insects or snakes in their house, they try as hard as they can to get rid of them. However, a gentleman living in Germany decided that he could turn these creatures into pets.

Unfortunately, one of those pets just happened to be a Black Widow, and this spider eventually did what it should always be expected to do — it bit its owner. He passed away and was found several weeks later covered by his collection of critters.

Many states have laws against keeping wildlife or exotic animals as pets. Texas has several of these, including one law that says you’re not allowed to have red stag deer as a pet.

However, one gentleman in Texas didn’t feel that way and eventually ended up paying for his civil disobedience with his life. Because of the incident, wildlife wardens eventually showed up and had to put the deer down.

Many people keep snakes as pets. This is a common occurrence, and the type of snake varies from person to person. Some will keep smaller snakes, others go big and choose something like a python. That decision could lead to some serious repercussions, though.

A young couple in Florida opted to choose a python as their pet, and unfortunately, this would cost them their child’s life. Being underfed for a month, the snake escaped and went on the hunt for food.

Just like some states have laws against ownership of exotic or wild animals as pets, some allow for certain animals as long as they are vaccinated and kept in an appropriate environment.

This woman who lived in Texas didn’t abide by any of these rules, though. Sadly, the mountain lion ended up attacking a young boy as he passed the caged area of the lawn.

You would think that a military man with some experience would realize keeping a hippopotamus as a pet might be a bad idea. However, this army major in South Africa felt bad for this creature and adopted it at a very young age after the hippopotamus survived a serious flood.

Eventually, the hippo that his owner called Humphrey would cause damage to more than inanimate objects. He would eventually attack and injure the major.

As you get older, people sometimes find it difficult to figure out what gift to get you for your birthday — and so, the unique presents start rolling in. Perhaps one of the most eccentric gifts you could receive is a camel. It happens, though! Australian Pam Weaver received a camel for her 60th birthday!

Of course, the camel was still a wild animal, and being the only one of his kind on the property, he began to look at other animals as potential mates. Eventually, this included his owner, who he ended up smothering to death.

We all love seeing exotic animals up close and personal. That’s why there are so many zoos, including small, privately owned zoos like the one this man owned in Illinois. One of his inhabitants just happened to be a lion that went by the name of Simba.

There are a lot of rules that go into running a place like this, one of them being — always make sure that you lock the door to a pen that’s holding one of these exotic creatures. Al made a fatal mistake and wound up being mauled to death because of it.

It’s one thing to be a big reptile lover to the point that you want to own a few harmless snakes. It’s a completely different story when you choose to house venomous snakes that could potentially injure people. Still, that didn’t stop a Cincinnati woman who loved reptiles.

Among these reptiles, she kept a urutu pit viper that eventually struck her with its venomous bite. She was able to make it to the hospital but she passed away about a week later.

A lot of people love dogs. Because of this, there’s a wide range of purebreds and mixed breeds that have become very popular. One of the mixed breeds that you may come across is that of a wolf and a common domesticated dog.

A Pennsylvania woman owned several of these mixed breed pups — that is, until they attacked her. Her body was found in the dogs’ enclosure, and because of this, they were put down.

When people raise cattle, it’s usually with the goal of using the animals for meat or selling them. Very few cattle farmers consider their bulls to be pets, except for this Pennsylvania man who ended up on the wrong side of his pet bull.

With a history of injuring his owner, this bull eventually crossed the line and trampled his owner to death — a day before his 53rd birthday nonetheless. Sadly, it took a little bit of time for people to find this poor man’s body.

Some people love animals so much that it almost becomes an obsession. These people often wind up collecting more animals than they can possibly handle. For instance, this woman had 50 dogs, and she just couldn’t take care of them properly.

Because of this, when she passed away unexpectedly, the dogs did what they had to in order to survive. Unfortunately, these survival instincts ended up costing them their lives.

You may not know this, but pigs will eat almost anything, so keeping them as pets will mean you have to be careful. Unfortunately for this Oregon farmer, he wasn’t very cautious, and that ended up leading to a very disturbing story.

Not sure of where he was, members of the farmer’s family began looking for him and eventually found his dentures and pieces of him in the pigsty. No one is sure if he passed away or if the pigs actually killed him.

Most apartment complexes have rules when it comes to the pets tenants can have — if they can have any at all. Oftentimes, even when they do allow certain pets, there are weight limits that are imposed due to the size of the building.

Clearly, Antoine, who had a full-grown tiger and alligator as pets, didn’t have that problem. The tiger must have been agitated to the point that he bit his owner, but when he went to the hospital to treat the injury, he just claimed it was his pitbull. This just didn’t sit well with the staff, though. Eventually, authorities were called in, and both animals were taken away.

Exotic animals can be very beautiful, and that’s why many people love having them as pets. This even goes for exotic lizards, but when you have these types of pets, you have to understand that they are wild animals no matter how much you love them.

That means if you happen to pass away, their instincts will kick in, and they will do what they have to do to survive. Unfortunately, that’s what happened to this gentleman, and when he was finally found, many reptiles had taken a bite out of him.

When you’re looking to have an exotic animal as a pet, you should probably stay away from ones that have monikers like “world’s most dangerous bird.” However, this person was brave enough to invest in a cassowary as a pet.

This would turn fatal one day when the old man tripped and fell to the ground. The bird then leaped and began attacking, and the man was unable to protect himself.

Crocodiles seem like something that you would try to stay as far away from as possible, but some people don’t see it this way. Instead, they opt to keep them as pets.

An Indonesian woman, Deasy Tuwo, was head of the laboratory at the pearl farm and was feeding Merry when she was killed. Acting on its instincts, the crocodile lunged at her and attacked.

There’s no denying that elephants are one of the cutest creatures on the planet and so, it may be very tempting to bring one home. This could be even truer for someone that views this animal as a symbol of something that they hold dear.

In the end, though, these animals grow up to be rather large and can easily turn on their owners. Take, for instance, Former Uttar Pradesh minister Ram Lakhan Verma — a senior leader of the Samajwadi Party who was trampled to death by his pet elephant Lal Bahadur.

Unless you live somewhere in which a wildebeest is a common animal, you might not consider ever having this type of pet. If you do have them roaming around, though, domesticating one might cross your mind.

This gentleman chose to have a wildebeest as a pet and thought that sawing its horns down would help make it less dangerous. In the end, though, that safety procedure didn’t help him much — as the wildebeest turned on him, causing severe damage to his head and chest.

It might be cool to have exotic pets, but you should probably pay attention to whether or not they’re deadly. For instance, owning a snake sounds fun, but choosing to have one of the deadliest snakes in the world might be a mistake.

This couple invested in a black mamba that they would keep in a glass aquarium along with their 74 other snakes. It’s no wonder that this venomous snake eventually wound up biting its owner. She passed quickly without even a call for help.

Domestication has made kanines one of the most common pets in the world. When you choose your pup, you would never consider the fact that they might turn on you at some point.

We’re sure that this young lady never expected it when she took her two pitbulls for a walk one day. Unfortunately, she never returned and was found dead after having been attacked by her dogs.

There’s a reason that dogs are called a man’s best friend. That’s because they are often loyal and protective. They would never think of injuring you because you are their human and they love you.

However, not all dogs are like that, and sometimes, there can be things that cause them to snap. Australia native Tania Klemke had a fatal encounter with her dog one fateful day in 2017 — all because she refused to let go of him since he had saved her life during a robbery.

Most of us have walked down the street only to spot a stray dog or animal that we just wanted to help. That’s exactly what happened to 63-year-old Linda Oliver and her husband when they saw a pup roaming the streets.

Only wanting to help, the couple took the dog in. Little did they know that this would be a huge mistake. The older woman would later find the dog attacking their smaller dog, and when she tried to separate them, the rottweiler turned on her.

Just like with human beings, when animals are exposed to mind-altering substances, it will alter their personalities. When dealing with animals, this could mean that they become more aggressive.

That’s what happened to this gentleman when he was dealing with his Staffordshire bull terrier. Affected by the illegal substances that he had gotten a hold of, the dog turned on his owner and attacked viciously. The attack was broken up when the police entered the apartment.

When there’s an emergency in the house, the pressure of the situation could cause some stress to the pet. However, that stress should not result in the dog attacking its owner.

The fact that these first responders couldn’t get to Della Riley because her dog was attacking her makes this situation even worse. Eventually, the officers had to take extreme measures.

Sometimes, as you age, investing in a pet can not only save you from being lonely but also give you a sense of security, especially when that pet is a dog. We’re sure that’s what this elderly lady thought when she chose her pups.

Unfortunately, that may have been a big mistake because, at some point, one of the dogs turned on her to the point that it killed her. Because the authorities were unsure of which one did it, both dogs were euthanized.

Coming home to find that your spouse has been killed is shocking in and of itself, but when you realize that it was your loving pets that had done the horrible deed, that horror completely intensifies.

That’s what happened to this young man, Jason, who came home to find that his wife had been mauled to death by their two pitbulls. Because no one was home, there was no account of what actually happened, but it looked like the young woman had tried to fight them off.

Sometimes, we forget that domesticated dogs still have a bit of a wild streak. This may mean that they often fight with other household pets. When this fighting gets too aggressive, the owners often try to step in.

That’s what this elderly woman did in Florida, which ended with her getting bitten to death in her own home. This is why people shouldn’t attempt to break up dog fights by themselves.

It must have been terrifying for this man’s neighbors to come across him bleeding in his own backyard. We’re sure that they had no idea what was going on or who the culprit of the attack was.

It was eventually figured out that the two mastiffs the gentleman owned were the culprits. It seems that he may have interrupted them and they didn’t like that, so they turned on him.

It’s horrible to be killed by a pet that you love and trust, but being killed by them and not having that incident known makes the situation worse. That’s what happened in this particular situation. One random day, a woman went over to her neighbor’s house to say a quick hello but upon arriving, she noticed two bodies lying inside the house.

After the emergency services arrived, it was discovered that both the mother and son were killed by their own Staffordshire terrier.

It would be tragic for a mother to walk in and find that her son had passed away. This mother probably wanted to have some sort of immediate explanation of why her young son lay dead in front of her, but the answer would be hard to find.

Walking in to find her son’s room filled with tarantulas and snakes had to have been unnerving. Eventually, she figured out that the young man had been turned on by his pet python.

Sometimes, when you’re playing with your pet, they’ll become a tad aggressive and bite you. They may also be trying to tell you that they don’t want to be touched at that particular moment.

Something like this would rarely end in the death of a pet owner, but it can happen. Take this guy, for instance, who ended up with a bacterial infection from his loving kitty. We’re sure this cat was very sad when its owner didn’t return from the hospital.

Sometimes, when people choose to have wild animals as pets, they think that the only way to train them properly is to beat the animal into submission. However, this abuse can leave some big scars.

That’s probably what caused the aggression in this goat, which eventually ended with him headbutting his elderly owner to death. This is just sad on both accounts!

A lot of young kids want to have pets so that they can show their parents they are responsible. Plus, they may just also want a new friend. The type of pet this young man wanted was a rat.

Unfortunately, that rat came with a bit of an infection, and once the rat had bitten him, the infection was passed on to the young boy. Tragically, he passed away from this infection.

Many people love ferrets. They are cute and have big personalities, but like all other exotic pets, they are innately wild. One of the biggest things people don’t seem to realize is that these cute, little, furry beasts have extremely sharp teeth.

One of a parent’s worst nightmares is that someone will get in and hurt their child, but this family never thought that that culprit would be their ferret. When they walked in on this scene from a horror film, we’re sure they were terrified.

Dealing with pets and babies at the same time can be a very stressful situation. As parents, most people are never sure of how the animal is going to react to the new baby. Some take to it really well, but others might get a little more aggressive.

We’re sure that’s what this woman thought when the dog charged towards the baby and the pacifier. By sticking her foot out, which is what she should have done, the OP angered her dog and so, he turned on her.

Like humans, pets sometimes get into arguments. The only difference is that when dogs get into arguments, it tends to turn into an aggressive fight, which could then lead to injuries. That’s why this gentleman stepped in.

Just like most of us, this gentleman tried to break up a fight and eventually wound up being attacked by the dog. This act sent him to the ER and emotionally scarred him for the rest of his life.

Animals still have some of their wild instincts, so sometimes, when they’re unsure of what something is, they turn to fight or flight mode. This cat decided to react in fight mode.

It doesn’t seem that this cat meant to hurt its owner, but because it was spooked, it reacted and turned on the OP pretty quickly. This had to be a terrifying situation for that cat owner.

Cats have a mind of their own and a distinct personality. They are often portrayed as being loners and only wanting affection when they choose it, and some can even be quite aggressive.

This pet owner had to fend off their cat on more than one occasion because they were very aggressive and would begin biting them for no reason. We’re surprised that they put up with this for so long!