Alice, I regret that my note gave you anything at all to focus on besides
the point.  As you seem to have read only the first paragraph, I'll just
tell you what it was: "I hope. . .  that his story serves as a reminder
that we can't judge animals (or other people) by our own assumptions.
Sometimes fat truly is beautiful."
 
I never implied that anyone was trying to single me out, only that they
must have seen the name Fatboy somewhere, and that it galled me that
they could read the name (from me or anyone else) and automatically
assume something negative.  I never said that I had the only Fatboy out
there, though I did think the name was rare.  Judging by the number of
(positive, even grateful) responses I've gotten, I do have to concede
that there are far more Fatboys out there than I had realized.  However,
unless your informal survey got an overwhelming response, any reference
to the "realm of over a million ferret in the US" is pretty gratuitous.
I also understand the focus of the article and I have already agreed that
reenforcing negative stereotypes about ferrets can have far-reaching
negative consequences.  I just don't see a landlord or legislator
discriminating against ferrets because they're chubby.  Your article
also mentions that names can be bad for a pet's self-esteem; I think
I've paraphrased that fairly.  Once again, however, see the point
(above).  So far, all other readers who responded have gotten that.  I
further agree that an unintentional offense is no less offensive, and
that conscientious--uh--pet owners take pains to correct true errors (for
example, by correcting names that truly are bad for the aminal) rather
than pointing to their good intentions or resorting to sarcasm.
 
OK, now I'm done.
[Posted in FML issue 5120]