Quick Update From Noél

So many of you reading this have come alongside me and my family with prayers and financial support as I continue stepping forward in faith—working to publish Shatter Your Shame while trusting God to provide for the very real needs in front of me by April 12th.

I want you to know how deeply grateful I am.

This unexpected financial pressure has been truly the hardest part of Brett’s prison journey so far, but having the emotional and financial support of this intimate community—family and dear friends—has carried me on days I honestly didn’t think I could keep going.

Right now, I’ve sold (60) copies of Shatter Your Shame (out of my goal of 200), and I am so beyond thankful for every single order.

I believe in this book with everything in me, and will find a way to bring it into this world no matter what!

Not even my big bills are going to stop me.

If you feel led to be part of this mission—to help free our brothers and sisters who are suffocating in shame—you can text me at (714) 410-2191, and I’ll get you some first edition copies of Brett’s one-of-a-kind stories.

And just being real for a second… doing these “shameless” sales pitches before Brett’s letters is NOT my favorite thing. I honestly kind of cringe writing them. 

BUT…

I believe in this book too much to stay quiet.

Because I know there are people out there who need to be reminded that their past does NOT get the final say.

And I am so PROUD to push these pages into existence WITH YOU.

I love all of you more than you will ever know.

Now please scroll down and meet my husband’s BIG BEAUTIFUL BROWN-EYED DOG, CONRAD… and the redeeming God story unfolding right in front of us. 💛

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I’m So Proud Of You Conrad 

Please… just take a minute and look at my BIG BEAUTIFUL BROWN-EYED DOG, CONRAD doing his thing out there in the “real world.”

I wish you could feel what I feel when I look at these pictures.

I already know this exceptional pup is warming the hearts of everyone lucky enough to meet him… but what you don’t see is what he did for me.

Some of you might remember the adorable puppy picture of Conrad I shared a while back—or you may have seen him in your Speak Dog book. But seeing him all grown up now… it does something to me I can’t fully put into words.

For a few moments, those cold concrete walls disappear.
The razor-sharp barbed wire fades.

And instead of feeling like a prisoner…

I feel like a man with purpose again.

The impact Conrad has made on my soul is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into perfect words.

From the very first day I saw his little fluffy body bouncing around my concrete cell, something inside me shifted.

I didn’t just see a dog…

I felt something.

Like God was trying to get my attention.

Like He was saying,
“Brett… I’m not done with you.”

Those BIG BROWN EYES… they didn’t just look at me.

They saw me.

And for a man buried under the weight of his past… that mattered more than I can explain.

BUT…

Our superhero service dog training journey was NOT going to be an easy one.

For example:

• Conrad’s first trainer was way too self-absorbed and focused on himself instead of preparing this gifted dog for his forever family.
• I was still trying to learn the basics of service dog training while attempting to survive the backwards world of federal prison.
• All the other puppies in the hall were months ahead of Conrad in their training, and this caused most of my fellow trainers to give up on this secretly gifted pup.

However… even with all the odds stacked against us and the opinions of others weighing heavy, we—a broken man and a forgotten pup—found a way to overcome every obstacle that came our way.

Ironically, the struggle and adversity we faced made us stronger and taught us how to truly work as one.

Month after month, my BIG BROWN-EYED DOG and I grew so close that he would anticipate what I needed before I even asked.

Our trials and tribulations forged an unbreakable bond between our two souls. And I mean it when I say, witnessing Conrad blossom into the superhero service dog he was always destined to be is one of the greatest honors of my life.

The dog I met inside a federal prison cell molded me into a better, more complete man than I ever could have become on my own.

The adorable pictures you’re currently looking at of Mr. Conrad were given to me a few weeks ago during one of our all-team meetings. It was at that very same meeting that our head trainer had a HUGE announcement to make.

She excitedly shared that one of the dogs from our last round of pups had been selected as a BREEDER—an honor reserved for only the best of the best service dogs.

As she prepared to reveal THE CHOSEN PUP, a hush fell over the room packed with convicted criminals.

Can you take a wild guess which deserving dog was chosen to create the next generation of superhero service dogs?

Yep… you guessed it.

MY BIG BROWN-EYED DOG—CONRAD!!!!

OOOOHHHHHH my gosh… I wish you could have seen my face when Conrad’s name echoed through that shell-shocked room.

I’m pretty sure I was levitating with joy for several minutes after the announcement.

Once again, Conrad helped me transcend the razor-sharp barbed wire that confines me. I can testify from personal experience that superhero service dogs like Mr. Conrad truly heal every soul they encounter.

I was genuinely blessed to be in the presence of this furry guardian angel with BIG BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES.

“Lord Jesus, thank you for sending me to one of the few federal prisons with a service dog training program. You knew exactly what our family needed before we did.”

Our GREAT and GRACE-FILLED GOD is taking the mess I created and transforming it into a healing miracle.

Shame NEVER stood a chance against my BIG BROWN-EYED DOG.

Conrad, my dear friend:

I LOVE YOU
I SEE YOU
I BELIEVE IN YOU

AND…

I AM SO DANG PROUD OF YOU

GO GET ’EM, BUDDY!!!

Sincerely,
Brett
(A federal prisoner who was transformed by a one-in-a-million pup)

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A Note From Noél

CONGRATS, MR. CONRAD!!!!

You are truly a one-in-a-million pup, and now the world is finally starting to recognize what we have known in our hearts all along.

Just the thought that there will be a whole new generation of brilliant, fluffy, loving, life-changing little Conrads out there… it honestly makes me cry the kind of tears that come from a full, overwhelmed heart.

Conrad… even though I never had the privilege of meeting you in person, I need you to know something:

You didn’t just change Brett’s life… you changed mine too.

Because I watched the man I love slowly fade under the weight of his past.
I watched shame take hold of him in ways that felt impossible to fight.
I watched pieces of him disappear… and I didn’t know how to bring him back.

And then… you showed up.

Your unconditional love reached places in his heart—and mine—that were hurting in ways I didn’t even fully understand.

You didn’t just train to become a service dog…

You became a lifeline.

A reminder.
A restoration.
A quiet, steady proof that God had not forgotten us.

You are a guardian angel with a tail—sent straight into one of the darkest places imaginable to rescue our favorite person on this planet.

And I will never, ever be able to fully express what that means to me.

Thank you, Mr. Conrad… from the deepest part of my heart… for helping bring Brett back to himself in a place that was trying to take everything from him.

We are all so incredibly PROUD OF YOU, and our entire family is cheering you forward with so much love.

Shame tried to suffocate the beaten-down Bartletts…

But a superhero service dog with BIG BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES stepped in and shattered that darkness inside a cold cement cell.

GOD, YOU ARE SO GOOD.

And we are standing in awe of Your grace.

Yes… our story is complicated.
Yes… it is messy and painful and full of things we wish we could rewrite.

BUT…

God didn’t walk away from our mess.

He stepped right into it…

And He is turning it into something healing.
Something meaningful.
Something redemptive.

And it is more beautiful than anything I could have imagined.

With overwhelming gratitude,
Noél
(One of Conrad’s biggest cheerleaders 💛)