I can't say I've had very many 'bad' crawl space experiences; quite the opposite.
When I was 7, we moved to a farm that was about to explode into a decade-long frenzy of building a suburb. I grew up exploring houses and watching the trades. I spent many a happy moment watching the plumbers work in the crawl spaces.
Later, when work sent me into crawl spaces, my first 'critter' experience was the time I lay on my side, trying to make some connections, when something brushed against me - then licked my ear. The family dog had come to visit. I've also had the cat walk over me, and the dog bolt out of the crawl after seeing me down there.
As an apprentice, I was sent into the crawl while the boss did the outside work ... feeding me the cable that I had to drag the length of the house and pass out the other side. He thought he was giving me the 'rough' part .... little did he realize that the customer had avoided landfil expense by laying his old carpeting down in the crawl space (seems his kids also played there).
Now, one customer claimed to have a cat - but I never saw "fluffy." Panicked after the job, we looked all over, assuming Fluffy had slipped out during the course of the job. No joy ... we figured Fluffy would make a nice treat for some coyote. As you might guess, I got a call three days later that they had found Fluffy - well, but hungry - who had aparrently accompanied me into the crawlspace, then been closed up when I left! I still coundn't tell you if the cat was black or white ... I have yet to see her.
Raccoons in the crawl space? Hey, no problem .... I once read a book about "tunnel rats" in Vietnam. Just make REAL sure you have good hearing protection, try for a head shot - and thick gloves just in case the first shot is followed by some H2H. Don't ask me how I know this.
My craziest crawl space experience, though, was in one space that was so damp that the ground was like silly putty. You couldn't even turn a screwdriver without pushing back into the earth, losing all mechanical advantage. I had to lay one of my 'attic boards' down so I could work.
I really like that stuffed toy story ... I'll have to try it some time!
