Now that you are familiar with CC there is another story that should be told. Before the Tufts family, CC was adopted by another family. Rebecca Stoddard and her family. Recognize the name? Yes, in the previous article Rebecca had adopted CC's full sister Anika. But in the fall of 2001, Rebecca had fallen in love with CC and had adopted her. 

Unsuspecting on the day of CC's scheduled delivery to her new home in Athol, MA. CC was loaded and driven to her new home. Upon our arrival we met not with the usual fan fair, but with an empty driveway, an empty barn, and empty household. This was a first. I had confirmed our delivery earlier that day so I was sure that they were expecting us, but no one was in sight, no note, nothing. CC had plenty of hay and space, she was riding loose in the trailer and was quite content. After waiting a reasonable amount of time the decision was made to head back home. As we were preparing to leave a family member of Rebecca's arrived and explained that just a short time before we had gotten there Rebecca's young son had been struck by a dump truck and had been rushed to Boston.

What a tragedy.  We returned home and waited to hear the results. Rebecca's young son was seriously injured and was going to take a great deal of time and commitment during his rehabilitation. Taking on the responsibility of a young foal with demands of her own was not a feasible or wise decision. Rebecca made the right choice and sadly passed CC up. Shortly after that the Tufts came into the picture. However we felt very badly for Rebecca and she had expressed the possibility of adopting a foal the following year if things developed well for her son. 

With that in mind I attempted to get a commitment in getting CC's full sibling if at all possible for the following year. Unfortunately someone else had beat me to it, however we were promised second choice if the first party withdrew. We were fortunate that fate intervened and the first party did withdraw and we were able to get  Anika to E.P.O.N.A.. Rebecca was not aware of any of this. We had spoken a few times throughout the year and her son was recovering very well and she was again looking to adopt in the fall. When the foals arrived at E.P.O.N.A. we called Rebecca and made arrangements for her to come and see the foals. We neglected to tell her about CC's sister being here, we wanted to surprise her. When Rebecca and her family arrived she began looking at the foals that were outside in the paddock. 

We had brought Anika into the barn, where she was quietly eating her hay. After a few minutes of looking at the other foals I suggested that she not make a decision until she had seen the foals in the barn. When she looked into the stall Rebecca recognized the similarities to CC immediately and she became speechless. I left Rebecca with Anika and the other foals to look them over and possibly make a decision. When I returned to the barn Rebecca and her family were in the barn with Anika and they gave me the unsurprising decision that she wanted to adopt Anika. So later last fall we were delighted to deliver CC's full sister to Rebecca and her family, and provide them with a special foal one year later. Thanks Rebecca.