Later
on, I took specialty training in diagnostic pathology
at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University
of Saskatchewan in western Canada. I returned to the
Alberta Dep't of Agriculture, but several years later,
I also took another year of training in diagnostic
pathology at the Western College. During my career,
I have authored or co-authored about 40 scientific
papers on domestic animals, poultry, aviary birds,
wildlife, and yes, even racing pigeons! I have been
involved with racing pigeons for much of my life.
I have been without them for only brief periods of
time (veterinary education, illness and death of parents)
so they have been pretty much a part of my life for
all my years up to the present time. Like many other
fanciers, I have had seasons ranging, in my own terms,
from outstanding to mediocre and even very poor.
My
most satisfying accomplishments with racing pigeons
followed my purchase in 1973 of one outstanding Sion-Stassart-Bastin
stock hen, whose offspring flew extremely well to
560 miles. To date, I have never owned a better pigeon.
That stroke of luck, together with the purchase of
the most important book I have ever read to the present
time on the natural system, Major Neilson Hutton's
"Pigeon Racing. Win With Olympic", were
the keys to the racing successes of my birds for the
next 15 or more years. At present, I fly a team of
Janssen, van Loon and Irish Putman crosses.
I
race in a small club of 10-12 members, on the north
road. Because of the distances between cities, fed
or combine racing just isn't practical or most often,
even possible. My present team of birds includes mainly
Janssens of several lines, the older lines of Van
Loons, and a few crosses of Irish Putmans - the latter
are grand at the distance. I have presented a number
of seminars in the USA and Canada to interested fanciers,
on the topics of racing, muscle and fuel requirements,
along with publications on the same topics, plus several
on disease updates, in current British, American and
Australian racing pigeon magazines, and the yearbook
of the Canadian RP Union.
I
am presently retired, but continue to do some consultation
work with fish for the Alberta Dep't of Agriculture
and private industry, search out disease information
on racing pigeons, along with my current major interest,
studies on muscle and fuel for racing. Finally, I
try to share this information with fellow fanciers
by writing my findings in articles for racing pigeon
magazines and the yearbook of the Canadian RP Union.