– Earn It – 

Me: “Conrad, Sit…”
Mr. Conrad: Performs a perfect sit and stares up at me with those big, eager brown eyes.

Me: “Conrad, Down…”
Mr. Conrad: Immediately lays down, tail wagging like crazy because he knows he nailed it.

Me: “Conrad, Side…”
Mr. Conrad: Pops into a statuesque stand and swings his body into perfect alignment with my right leg. Two friends, standing tall together.

Me: “Conrad, Let’s Go…”
Mr. Conrad: Instantly walks stride for stride with me, like we’re sharing one soul. No leash needed. After a thousand training walks, our rhythm is locked in.

Me: “Conrad, Get It…”
Mr. Conrad: Quickly finds his long leash, gently picks it up with his front teeth, and carefully places it into my hand. Then he wiggles his whole body to show how much he LOVES working in front of the class.

Me: “Conrad, Back…”
Mr. Conrad: Delivers a perfectly rehearsed six-foot moonwalk backwards. His front paws do a happy dance—because he knows what comes next.

Me: “Conrad, Come!!!”
Mr. Conrad: SPRINTS toward me, stops three inches in front of my legs, and sits with the biggest smile on his face—ears perked, waiting for his payment.

Me: “Great job, my friend. You did amazing!!!”
Mr. Conrad: Devours his well-earned kibble reward.

Our Lead Puppy Trainer:
“I honestly can’t believe that is the same Conrad. Amazing job, you two. I’m at a loss for words.”

Me: “Thank you. We’ve put in a ton of work together. Conrad is super smart and loves to train. I’m beyond blessed to be his prison puppy trainer.”

Mr. Conrad: Sits by my side, staring at me with those big brown eyes—waiting for us to get back to “work.”

---

Getting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a prison puppy trainer is a priceless gift for a broken man like me. Before surrendering to prison, I prayed for a way to make Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion proud. God blessed me with Mr. Conrad and gave me a clear path to EARN my way home.

Every day, after finishing my seven-hour “prison job,” I get the absolute pleasure of training exceptional pups like my big brown-eyed dog, Conrad. Instead of watching TV, gambling, or wasting my time in some prison “hustle,” I CHOSE to volunteer ALL of my free time to training future service dogs for their forever families.

These future service dogs are going to be living, breathing miracles for people in desperate need of a breakthrough. God continues to bless me with massive purpose in the middle of this painful journey.

I’m honored to be a prison puppy trainer. Only 14 inmates on this entire compound were carefully selected and certified by the state of Minnesota. By some miraculous act of grace, I was chosen as one of those 14 men.

“Willow, my wonderful daughter… Before I surrendered to federal prison, I promised you I would EARN my way home and make you PROUD. Daddy is following through on that promise. I can’t wait to train tons of doggies with you when I come home. Willow, you’re going to make an incredible trainer someday. You are destined for greatness, my love.”

A big part of my journey is holding myself accountable for every tiny decision I make daily. I need constant accountability. Training service dogs is the PERFECT fit for keeping me honest.

Dogs are perfect for my commitment to accountability because THEY CANNOT LIE. They reflect the truth back to you whether you want to see it or not. Our furry friends are brutally honest mirrors of the effort we put in. If I skip training… if I slack off… if I make poor decisions even for one day, Conrad will expose it instantly. He will show my shortcomings to the entire dog program class during our weekly demonstrations. And honestly? 

I LOVE THIS LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY!!!

“Thank You, Lord, for placing me at one of the few federal prisons that trains service dogs.”

For the first time since surrendering, I finally feel like I’m EARNING my way home to Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion. I’m dedicated to proving worthy of their unconditional love and support. Thank you to each of you who believed in me during my darkest moments.

Real quick, let me clarify something:
Training service dogs does NOT earn me a single day off my 15-year sentence. Not even one.

I could train the best service dogs in the world for the next ten years… and still get out at the EXACT same time as someone who spends every day watching TV.

The federal system is confusing, but the truth remains: I put myself here. To reconcile with society, I must take full responsibility for my short sighted business decisions and EARN my way home.

“EARNING,” to this broken man, has nothing to do with shaving time off my sentence. I simply desire the quiet internal assurance that I’m doing everything humanly possible to PROVE I’m worthy of this second chance at a meaningful life. 

Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, Zion, and so many others deserved better than what I gave them. I will continue to use every day productively to prepare for my release and become the father, husband, friend, brother, and son I was meant to be.

No prison temptation will ever take me off track.

Truthfully, I wish so bad I could go back in time and change so much about my past. People are in pain because of me and that weighs heavy on my heart. I hate to admit it, but there are so many days in prison I get caught in a vicious regret cycle.

However, many shame filled nights has helped me realize that living in regret is a selfish existence.
The past is the past.

All I can do now is use every waking moment behind barbed wire to build toward a better future.

I know at the naive and young age of 26 I was given the business opportunity of a lifetime and BLEW IT TO OBLIVION!!!

That reality will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Pain and shame have taught me to value EVERY blessing. I will NEVER repeat the mistakes of my past.

There are days I feel so unworthy and wonder why I was chosen to train service dogs. How could a broken failure like me be given ANOTHER opportunity of a lifetime? I'm not going to lie, it’s a hard pill for me to swallow sometimes.

“Thank You, Jesus. Your grace is truly limitless. I promise to honor and protect this precious gift You’ve given me.”

At night, when I'm laying in my cold metal bunk bed, I like to close my eyes and dream about all the breakthrough dog training techniques I'm going to teach people when I'm out of prison. I love envisioning the ear to ear smiles on each person's face when their pup performs a perfect "sit," "down," or "get it."Uggghhhh I'm tearing up right now just writing about these future memories.

I mean it when I say this: I’m beyond blessed.

I'm hopeful that my "shame story" is proof that the love of Jesus is unconditional. If you’re reading this and carrying shame, PLEASE know—there is REAL freedom for you today. Your past does NOT need to define you any longer.

Look at my life. I’m writing this from a high-security federal prison, and God has STILL given me a purpose-driven daily life that glorifies His Kingdom.

“Lord, if anyone reading this letter is suffocating in shame, break those heavy chains like You broke mine. Show them Your grand purpose for their lives.”

There is a road to redemption that starts with taking responsibility and laying EVERYTHING at the feet of Jesus. He died so our sins could be forgiven and we could be set FREE.

Thank you again for letting me express my thoughts and feelings through these prison walls.

I’m one grateful federal prisoner, looking forward to EARNING MY WAY HOME.

Love all of you,
Brett (A man thankful for a second chance at life)

---

– A Note From Noél –

Letters like this from Brett fill the giant hole in my heart with HOPE. Every time he writes, he reminds me that our family’s future is bright and that God’s got us — even here, even now, even in the middle of all this hurt.

I’m so thankful for my husband and the real-time transformation happening inside him behind those barbed wire fences. I see it. I feel it. And it strengthens me more than he realizes.

And let’s be honest…
I OBVIOUSLY HATE THE FACT THAT HE IS IN FEDERAL PRISON, THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY from me, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion!!!!

But even with all that pain… I can’t deny what God is doing. I can’t ignore how He is turning our family’s mess into an absolute miracle.

I already know Brett is going to WOW the world with his dog training knowledge and experience. I know this because NO JOKE, I’ve read his SPEAK DOG manuscript at least 20 times while turning it into a full fledge 250 page book — editing, formatting, reworking, re-reading — and every single time, I’m amazed all over again by my incredible husband.

Fun fact: I massively underestimated how unbelievably HARD it is to edit, format, and publish a book. (Like… wow. What a journey.) But I’m almost DONE!!! And trust me… I have plenty of hilarious oopsie stories to share with you later. 😂

With just a few more late nights, SPEAK DOG will finally be published and available to the world. I'm seriously sooo excited!! 

I’m not gonna lie…
I’m SUPER PROUD of this book — and I’m super proud of myself. 😉
Slowly but surely, I’m figuring out this “prison wife” thing. One miracle, one meltdown, and one answered prayer at a time.

More than anything, I hope our family’s story inspires someone out there who is walking through their own season of suffering to NEVER GIVE UP — no matter what. Life has a way of throwing curveballs that knock the wind out of you, but it’s in those brutally hard moments that you discover your choice: you can let the pain take you down… or you can stand up, face it head-on, and fight your way through it with everything you have.

Brett is 100% right, your pain and shame do NOT get to determine your future — or your family’s future.

Your past is your past.
Jesus died so you could walk in freedom.
And WE — the Bartletts — are choosing to live in that freedom every single day because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

We are so beyond grateful for this beautiful community.
Thank you for carrying us through one of the hardest seasons of our lives.
We love you all so much! ❤️

Sincerely,
Noél (A tired, grateful, and PROUD Prison Wife)