MSc

Lorna Coppinger majored in Slavic Studies at Boston University, and earned her M.A. in biology at the University of Massachusetts. While their two children were growing, Lorna published many popular articles, mostly about dogs, and when Ray began training and racing a team of sled dogs, she followed with pen and camera and wrote the first (and award-winning) comprehensive book on sled dog racing.

As a co-founder (with Ray) of the Livestock Guarding Dog Project in 1977, Lorna began fifteen years as research associate/outreach specialist at Hampshire College. She and Ray have studied working dogs throughout the U.S. and Europe. They imported dozens of guardians for a breeding program for the U.S., and credit these specialized breeds with providing the spark for their subsequent ethological research.

Lorna has written numerous technical articles for the scientific journals, but the most fun for both authors has been distilling two lifetimes spent in professional and personal association with dogs in their 2001 book, Dogs.