Some great and funny stories, here's mine:
1. I was fishing below a damn in Arizona for Flathead catfish. I was using a big surf rod (the cats get big) and grabbing at a stone to keep it secure with against another rock. I picked up a small stone and immediately felt a burning sensation in my little finger. I knew I had been bit by a scorpion. A few seconds later I saw it crawling on the next rock. It was the small and dangerous kind but we were far from a hospital and I hadn't had too much of a reaction from bee stings. Suffice to say, I'm happy we brought the cooler full of beer... on ice! I had to keep my hand in there half the night or the pain got unbearable (much worse than a bee sting). But in the ice, I didn't feel hardly anything but the pressure from swelling.
2. I was fishing in the before mentioned spot and fell asleep on the rocks on my sleeping bag. Yes, the same rocks basically as mentioned in one. My feet were hanging over a big rock. In the middle of the night I heard some kind of insect making a buzzing sound. My friend woke me and said, "Sounds like a rattlesnake." I said no and went back to sleep. He said it again and this time I checked in the hole where my feet were hanging over. Sure enough there was a newborn rattler in there. I got our fishing net and removed him and placed him in the bushes. That would have sucked had he bit me in the ankle or leg...
3. Me and my friend were fishing in, no lie, rattlesnake cove in a popular Arizona lake. It started to get really cold at night like it often does in the desert, so we went searching for fire wood. We found a enough sticks to make a fire. During our search I reached for a stick and when I was about 3" from it my friend said "Stop, that is a rattler!". I then realized it. It took all kinds of prodding to wake it up as it was cold. I probably could have picked it up and it wouldn't have done anything.
4. Delivering some Italian food for a restaurant in San Diego and I was halfway across a big yard when a roughly 100 pound German Sheppard attacked me. He ran full bore at me and all I had was a medium pizza in my hand. When he was about 10 feet from me I said, in a really soft voice "Hey buddy, how ya doin." He froze for a second and turned his head as my calmness clearly took him off guard. I kept speaking soft like that and asked him if he wanted some pizza, the whole time fending him off with the box. He never did get to bite me as the owner was there in about 15 seconds. The guy walked up and said "I can't believe he didn't kill you. He is a vicious dog." I said "Hey Mister, you know you are lucky that I've had bigger Sheppards in my life and was able to be calm. Another driver would have been killed. Next time you order some food, lock him up."
5. I was walking with my surfboard in San Diego along the cliffs. I saw a stick laying in the trail and just before I stepped over it I looked down. It was a small 3 foot rattlesnake basking in the sun. I was shocked to see a ratler there because of all the houses but there it lay. I used my board and just pushed it off to the side. I wonder if it would have struck at me had I did try to step over it.
I should say I'm very comfortable with animals, had big boas and German Shepards growing up, so all of the above situations were pretty easy for me to remain calm, though the dog one was the scariest for me. Well, that and seeing how I'd react to the scorpion bite!