Two-year-old Jasmine Ballard pointed to a picture in a photo album of a bald man with a goatee covered in tattoos.

"My daddy," she said.

One of Shane Ballard's many tattoos was of Jasmine's footprint. He called her his "lucky charm," because she was born on St. Patrick's Day 2006.

From the day she was born, Shane Ballard taught his daughter how to be tough "like a pit bull." He would wrestle and tease her.

"He would tell her, 'It's a dog-eat-dog world, and you have to be the best dog,'" said his wife, Kristi Ballard.

During his life, Shane Ballard did his fair share of fighting with the best of the dogs and trying to make it in the "dog-eat-dog world."

He had hard times. At points, he lived out of his car or in a homeless shelter. He struggled to keep a job. In his youth, he used drugs. He dealt with bad relationships.

At the age of 29, he decided to move to Casper from Michigan in 2007 because of Michigan's poor economy.

Casper offered him a chance to start a new life, provide for his family and be the man he knew he could be.

"He had dreams of making big money on the oil rigs so I could stay home with Jasmine," Kristi Ballard said.

His dreams were cut short when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer on June 24, 2007 about three months after he arrived in Casper. He died Aug. 23, 2008 at his home in Casper at the age of 30.

"He was just an average person," Kristi Ballard said. "He made mistakes, and he worked to fix them."

Shane Ballard's looks were anything but average.

"I was scared to death of him," Kristi Ballard said of the first time they met in 2005.

Kristi had just graduated from high school in Michigan and the then 28-year-old Shane Ballard didn't seem like the man for her. At 6 feet, 2 inches and 230 pounds, Ballard's bald head, goatee and numerous tattoos made him look "like a felon."

His future wife said, "He had that 'I might hurt you' kind of look.'"

One night, Shane Ballard asked Kristi why she was afraid of him. He wanted to get to know her.

Kristi Ballard said they talked the rest of the night and became inseparable.

"He had come out of a bad relationship," she said. "He wanted someone to get him out of that life."

Shane Ballard's mother, Sandra Bennett, said his looks gave people the wrong impression. His landlord in Casper didn't want to rent to him at first because of the way he looked but in the end gave him the apartment.

It didn't come as much of a surprise to Bennett that her son wanted to move to Casper.

"He liked to take adventures," said Bennett, of Mount Pleasant, Mich. "He was kind of a loner when he was little."

He loved the outdoors, especially fishing, said Lorrie Gibbs. She and her husband, Daniel, allowed Shane Ballard to live with them when he was 18 after they found out he was living in his car.

They said he was like their son.

"One day, he came up to the house all gleaming - he had shot a goose," Daniel Gibbs said. "He was happier than hell. I showed him how to clean it up and we ate it for dinner that night."

Shane Ballard called Daniel Gibbs "old man" and Lorrie "Ma," said the couple of Olivet, Mich.

"No matter how bad it got, he still had a smile on his face," Lorrie Gibbs said. "He was a real optimist."

When Shane and Kristi Ballard first started dating, they had to remain optimistic. Kristi said they had a lot going against them.

There was the age difference - Shane was about 10 years older - and he already had four kids from previous relationships. Then, Kristi became pregnant with Jasmine a few months into their relationship.

"He felt if he couldn't provide for his family then he wasn't a man," Kristi Ballard said. "He was tired of living that way."

When he arrived in Casper, he took a job with a concrete company. He saved enough money for an apartment in North Casper, and Kristi and Jasmine followed two months later.

The couple obtained a marriage license in June 2007 and planned a Dec. 22 wedding.

On that day, Shane was in the hospital.

Even though they had to be married in the Wyoming Medical Center chapel, Kristi Ballard said she will always remember that day.

"It was fun," she said. "We laughed with friends. He was still happy."

After Shane died, Kristi Ballard said it was difficult to decide if she was going to stay in Casper.

"I had every temptation in mind to go back," Kristi said. "I gave up my family and friends to move here."

But her husband had moved them here to give her and their daughter a better life. His dying wish was that Kristi and Jasmine would stay in Casper where there were good jobs, caring people and beautiful scenery.

After everything she went through with Shane in Casper, it's beginning to feel like home.

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp.