Robert William Doolan March 18, 1986 – March 6, 2017
Robert (Bobby) Doolan served for 10 years as an Army Green Beret and completed multiple combat deployments including Iraq, Afghanistan, India, and Thailand. He earned the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge. After leaving the military, he settled in Seattle to attend the University of Washington where he earned a degree in Political Science. He had a passion for adventure and loved bungee jumping, scuba diving, snowboarding, hiking, and kayaking.
On March 6, 2017, Bobby tragically took his own life.
Our head trainer is Carol who is and always will be Bobby’s mother. After Bobby’s passing Carol stopped teaching, became certified and started training service dogs full time. Carol did this asking for nothing in return, rather to do everything in her power so no one else would not have to go through what she had.
The founding members of Project Kenny heard about the tragic loss of Bobby and what Carol was doing through a mutual friend. A connection was made and an instant partnership was formed. Our organization would not be where it is today without Carol. Her dedication has ensured Bobby’s legacy lives on by the training of the service dogs that change the lives of veterans and service members around the nation.
On May 24th of 2018 a special ceremony was held to honor the life of Bobby at the University of Washington. His family, teammates and members of Project Kenny were in attendance to honor his memory and raise awareness for Veteran suicide. A news article about the event can be found here.