Today we’d like to introduce you to Corinna Porter.
Hi Corinna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always had a love for animals. As a child, I had fish, turtles, crickets, a tarantula, a cat, and a dog; when we moved to the country after I got married, we got chickens, sheep, and horses while still having cats and dogs. The sheep were part of the Navajo Churro preservation project, and it was a “feel good” experience, but they were not very friendly and required a lot of effort to socialize. Then, I became involved with horses. After breeding and riding horses, I moved into being a Mom. As my older son grew it became apparent that he was born with some developmental challenges, which were later diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. I came to realize I may need to be home more. I began looking for animals that would allow me to be at home while providing another income source. I became interested in alpacas.
Alpacas do not require much care and are enjoyable. They are curious animals and are easily trained. They are not aggressive and with having two small children I did not want to worry about them getting hurt around the animals.
We started with five females, three of which were pregnant. We have gradually expanded and now are at 24 alpacas. While my older son does not enjoy the alpacas and prefers to be inside with the cats, my younger son enjoys the country life with the chickens, dogs, cats, and alpacas. He is starting to be a good helper with the animals and farm chores, which has been a real blessing. While I wanted to make the alpacas into a business venture, I only did a little with the business side of owning alpacas until this past year. I was selling my yarn locally and selling some cria (baby alpacas) each year. Every once in a while, someone would ask to see the farm and visit the alpacas. I found these opportunities both fun and rewarding and did them for free. Another alpaca farm in the area was doing tours as part of their business but sold off their herd this past year. Several of my friends, who also own alpacas, shared that there has been a lot of interest in tours and that it was something I should consider. I decided that this might be a good time to open my doors and conduct tours professionally.
We started last November before Thanksgiving. While it began slowly, our Christmas event with Santa Claus was a huge success and a lot of fun. I thought the alpacas would be the big draw, but it turns out that our Akbash/Pyrenees mix guardian dog was also a huge hit. She loved all of the attention. We have had some tourists from Park City come during the ski season and have done some home-school tours this Spring. It has been fun to share and teach the children about the alpacas. I am working on getting my website up and running while making a brochure to advertise our presence here in the valley.
I aim to share my love of animals, particularly to families with children. As a child psychologist, I have seen the benefits of animals in the lives of my clients. Eventually, I would like to incorporate the alpacas into some therapy work. I know this has been done with horses and goats, and I see the potential of being able to do this with alpacas.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of my struggles has been doing the business side of things. My love and care for the animals has never been a problem, but putting myself out there in the public eye, trying to learn to do Instagram and Facebook, trying to sell the products from the alpaca fiber, and selling the animals has been a struggle. When I started, I was on Facebook but only used it to hear about family events. I never posted anything. I tried to avoid having to learn this, but nowadays, most things are advertised through social media. I am slowly learning to navigate these, but I’m still uncomfortable with them. My minimum goal is to post stuff at least once a week. Even though I know I should be doing it daily.
We’ve been impressed with Corinna A Porter, Ph.D. LLC, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
In addition to managing my alpaca farm, I am a child psychologist with over 30 years of experience. My specialization lies in working with children aged 3 to 18, and I run my own private practice. I have undergone extensive postgraduate training in working with traumatized children. Beyond the standard practice of child psychology, I often incorporate therapy dogs into my sessions. While this work is very rewarding it can be emotionally draining and I find solace and fulfillment in my quiet time with the animals. They are excellent listeners and incredibly empathetic, adding a unique dimension to my practice.
I am also a dog breeder, and the name of my kennel is ‘Wasatch Back Companions’. I chose to raise golden retrievers due to their wonderful temperaments, trainability, and ability to do service and therapy dog work. They are also great family dogs. My son, with Autism, wanted a golden retriever when he was younger, and I eventually decided it would be a good idea. The dog could accompany me to work and then be home with him after school. Our love for the breed expanded after Maizey, our first retriever, joined our family. When she was two, she had her first litter of puppies. The boys loved this experience and found it very rewarding. It was a struggle parting with the puppies, but the good outweighed the bad, and we decided to become breeders.
There has been a lot of learning involved in this endeavor. I wanted to make sure I was being a responsible breeder. To increase the likelihood of selling healthy puppies, the parents have to pass a series of examinations and genetic testing. Lucky for me, Maizey passed all of her health tests and has been an asset to our program. Since then, we have expanded to have several golden mommas and a sire. Not all of our dogs have passed this testing, which has been sad and disappointing. We still enjoy having our dogs and raising and socializing the puppies, but there have been a lot of ups and downs with the breeding business; it is not for the faint of heart.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I personally don’t feel like it is luck, but many blessings. I have had a wonderful life with many different animals, all of whom I have loved with all my heart. I have also had the good fortune to meet many other animal lovers along the way, some of whom have become very dear friends and incredible mentors. They have shared their knowledge about the animals, health care, training and the business side of things. I would not be where I am today without their support and help. There are so many wonderful people in the animal world.
Business-wise, while there has been ample success, there have been devastating losses, e.g., alpaca babies passing away after nights trying to help them survive, imported expensive dogs from Europe that did not pass their health testing and couldn’t be used for breeding, etc. I have made many mistakes but have learned a lot along the way. Overall, I would do it again
Pricing:
- $25.00 for adults
- $15.00 for children, ages 3 and up
- Groups of six and over receive a 10% discount on entrance and merchandise from our store
- Locals also receive a 10% discount
Contact Info:
- Website: wasatchbackalpacas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wasatch.back.alpacas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WasatchBackAlpacas/
Image Credits
Mollie Shutt was the photographer of the pictures of the alpacas and dogs.
