>The following is a copy of a letter I sent to Ferrets Magazine.
>
>There I was, reading the article on ferret names your November/December
>2005 issue.  True, I thought as i read along, we don't want to reenforce
>negative stereotypes by naming our angels after serial killers.  Well,
>I turned the page and--imagine my surprise!--there, on the list of
>worst ferret names was my beloved Fatboy!  Really?!  Worse than Charles
>Manson?  Jeffery Dahmer?  Stinky?  Worse than Poopie, or any of the
>other names from the previous page?  Even more galling, to me, was the
>fact that there can't be that many Fatboys.  Many of the people who
>decided the name was terrible had to be talking about me!  They had
>to have seen the name on cards I had sent as part of my love for
>ferrets--with shelter donations or in card exchanges.  To say the
>least, I felt misjudged. ...
>
>Clover Williams and Fatboy
 
Hello Clover,
I was the author of the article and I can ASSURE you that the
aforementioned article was not written to inflame anyone, especially
not you in specific.  The names which were included in the article
came from an informal poll which was invited on the FML - this list in
preparation for the piece.
 
I did not pointedly solicit for anyone's names in specific and the
article was not meant to pick on anyone - rather the article was written
so that folks could consider a larger picture with the ferret name as a
focal point.  As you can imagine, where there are still states,
municipalities etc., which outlaw ferrets as pets any negative
presentation of this animal is not for the good.
 
As stated, the article focuses on several points - for instance there
are those humans with home owners insurance who now face problems in
retaining insurance due to companies which discredit them as High risk
for owning ferrets.  There is still the dilemma in California with so
much mis- information and Bad information on ferrets which make thenm -
in the eye of California fish & game a threat to to ecological impact
of the state.  Your sweet ferret though you feel him victimized was not
indeed sibngled out for his name.
 
The piece was in fact illustrative to give folks option as "how" to
choose names for their pets while pointing out what damages negative
names could give.  The suggested worst names and over-used names came
with folks who submitted their ferrets name stories.  I really doubt that
any one person suggested that name to point at your little fur child.
 
In years past we ( Ferret Wise Shelter) have had numerous ferrets enter
the shelter with the same name ( Fat Boy) so I imagine there are others
out there -- in the realm of over a million ferret in the US as pets it
is possible for there to be more than one!  Especially when you have
popular musicians with teh name Fatboy on the scene!
 
I am sorry the article has upset or disappointed you, it was not meant
to do so, rather it was meant to be educational and enlightening and
as a result help the image of ferrets within and outside of the humane
community.  I hope you will continue to read Ferrets Magazine, in spite
if your disappointment with this article as it is full of wonderful
articles meant to assist all ferret loving folks.
 
Sincerely,
Alicia Drakiotes,
author
[Posted in FML issue 5117]