Roy Crawford earned a BSA from the University of Saskatchewan (1955), a M.S. from Cornell University (1957), and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts (1963). He was a research officer with Agriculture Canada prior to joining the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in 1964. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming full professor in 1974. In addition to his research and extensive publications, Crawford was an exceptional teacher, earning the Master Teacher award in 1984, the Ralston Purina Teaching Award in 1981, and was named Professor of the Year both from the College of Agriculture (1976-1977) and from the WCVM Pre-clinical Studies (1975-1976). Crawford also served as national vice-president (1977), and Saskatchewan Director (1972-1975), of the Canadian Kennel Club; and presented several short-courses on dog breeding and genetics throughout western Canada, in Ottawa, and in the US.