• Dave Shewmaker has been an avid animal breeder for over sixty years. He first became interested in genetics at the age of nine when he began breeding rabbits. He was introduced to racing pigeons at the age of fourteen, but only kept them for a brief time. He continued breeding rabbits for the next forty eight years, successfully developing a number of highly inbred lines. • After graduating from the University of California with a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics, he moved to Ohio where he established a commercial swine seed stock operation. • In the early eighties he became Director of Porcine Products for Genetic Engineering Inc. It was during this period that he became interested in the genetics of racing animals. Not having the resources to breed Thoroughbred horses, he returned to racing pigeons. • He established his first flock of racing pigeons in 1985. Today he operates Shewmaker Genetics in California. He maintains over a dozen inbred lines and does