Porter girl... the beginning.

I got Porter, my Jack Russell Terrier, in 2001 while in college.  She was the cutest little thing.  She came from a little town called Portersville... go figure.  We did have an issue with the adoption though.  The breeder told us she was a boy, hence the name Porter.  I'm sure the poor little thing had a complex because for the first week we were saying "he", "he's such a good boy".  Lord, she was probably like what the heck is wrong with you woman!?  I'm not a cat!  You can tell that I'm a girl.  I've got no thing!

Before you go thinking the same... I hadn't had a puppy since I was really young and I took the breeder for her word.  I assumed she would know the difference.  My boyfriend (at the time) and I called to request the boy from the two puppies that were born.  We told her we were from Slippery Rock and we would come the next day.  When we showed up it was pouring rain.

She said, "You're here for the girl."
Me: "No, we're from Slippery Rock and we're here for the boy."
Breeder: "Ok, wait here. I'll go get him."

We stood in the front room of the farm house while she went back to the back to get the puppy.  As soon as she handed me the puppy, I couldn't care what it was... a boy, a girl, a rat... it didn't matter.  She was the sweetest little thing I had ever seen and I was instantly in love with her.  Then I held her in front of me.

Noticing that she was lacking something I said, "this is the boy?"
Breeder: "Yep, that's the boy."
Me: "THIS is the boy?"
She looked at me funny and said yes.

So, without skipping a beat, I hugged her while Jeremiah paid her.  We didn't request to see the mother/father or get her "papers".  At the time, it didn't matter.  Reflecting back, I wish I could have seen her mother.  I'm sure Porter looks and acts just like her.  Her expressive face, her strong will and attitude.  I assume that one of the two had shorter hair and one was more scruffy.  Porter has thick coarse hair, but is more smooth than the longer haired JRTs.  The first visit to the Vet was a total trip.  She was of course scared... I was in shock after the initial conversation:

Vet: "So have you thought about getting her spayed?"
Me: "HER?"  "The breeder told us it was a boy."
Vet: "Not unless Porter has had a sex change in the last 5 minutes."
Wow, that was embarrassing...

This was the summer between my junior and senior years at Slippery Rock University.  My boyfriend transferred to a college in Maine and Porter went to live with my parents.  They had two older dogs and my mom was home all day, every day.  I ended up losing the boyfriend by the end of the Spring semester, but kept Porter in the "divorce".  There was no way I could let him take her.  She liked me better anyway ;)

who I am:

Jasmine Goldband

Family...  I'm married to a wonderful guy named James.  We live in Morgantown, WV and have a dog named Porter.  She's been the constant in my life for the past 10 years.  So many things have changed and she was my little buddy through it all.  My father passed away this past December.  He was the kind of guy who would bend over backwards for his family.  He worked so hard to give us what he didn't have.  His father was not a loving dad and my mother said he always wanted a family to give the love he never got.  He succeeded.

Photo by Cassie Kay Photography

Dance... The past seven years I have been a dancer in Pittsburgh, PA.  I've seen companies come and go and have been involved with two that failed due to the economy.  It's a sad thing to see a dance company go under.  In many cases it's not the dancer's fault, but  really more about the tastes of the audiences and how big "the pie" is.  After the economy tanked, so many had a hard time making ends meet.  The arts took the biggest hit. We all get our funding from the same places.  The first company I performed with was a small modern dance company called LABCO or Laboratory Company Dance.  It went under in 2009.  I performed and taught with LABCO, Pillow Project Dance Company, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble and Dance Alloy Theater over the past seven seasons and have loved every

Biandi Photography & Art

second.  Two weeks ago I lost my income.  Dance Alloy Theater, of which I had the honor of performing with during it's 35th year anniversary, ran out of grant money... along with some other issues that were kept from us by our board of directors.  We merged with a theater down the street, but we are no longer a salaried dance company.  My career is dramatically changing right now.  With a foot injury and living so far from important performance opportunities, I'm finding that teaching is making a comeback in my life.  I was a college adjunct teacher in the theater department at a small college in WV for three years and at a University in Pittsburgh.  Over the past three years I have done more outreach work, like I did early in my career, and have really enjoyed making an impact with young children.  My teaching has really spanned every age range from 3 to 76 and from non dancers to professionals.  I've taught in practically every kind of venue, from studios to elementary schools and colleges to dance clubs.  I really have done it all... and loved it.  www.GretchenMoore.webs.com

Travel...  We love to vacation.  The southern part of the Outer Banks is our new favorite beach spot.  We were always a North Myrtle Beach family, but two years ago we ventured north to OBX and it was perfect for us.  Our friends that live in Boulder City, NV always have us out (usually every summer).  We could never live there.  We love to visit , but wow is it hot!  Love DC.  We try and stop every year on our way back from the beach.  I took this pic of a of a silly female duck diving for food in the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial a few years ago.

Hopefully this blog with be a way for me to share my loves... I have many.  I've only scratched the surface of my life...