-The Fantastic Mr.Finn-

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Brett, are you ready to choose your next puppy?”

Me: “Yep, I’m ready.”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Awesome! Please step into this room over here and close the door behind you. I’m going to show you the full list of puppies that are coming here in a few days. I have pictures and full reports for each puppy so you can select the exact one you want. Please choose wisely because you can’t switch puppies once we get going. Let’s start with the list of puppies organized in alphabetical order by their name. Here’s the list.”

Me: “Ok thanks. Hmmmm… I WANT FINN!!!”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Brett, you barely looked at the list and I haven’t even shown you pictures or puppy reports yet. What the heck made you choose Finn so fast??!”

Me: “I honestly don’t know. His name just spoke to me. I know with 100% certainty he is supposed to be my next puppy in prison.”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Oookkk… that’s kinda crazy, but it’s your choice, man. Let’s look at Finn’s puppy pictures and report together.”

Me & Lead Puppy Trainer: “OH MY GOSH!!! HAHAHAHA!”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Brett, he looks EXACTLY like Conrad!!! I can’t even believe it.”

Me: “I can. We were meant for each other. Will you please tell me a little about Mr. Finn according to his puppy report?”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “Dang Brett, I’m sorry… this report says Finn is super high energy. He sounds like a tough one to train.”

Me: “Actually, Finn sounds perfect to me. I think The Fantastic Mr. Finn and I are going to make a great team together. His high energy is a God-given gift that can be shaped into something exceptional.”

Lead Puppy Trainer: “I hope so…”

Me: “I know so. Give us some time and WE WILL PROVE IT!!!”

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This past Saturday night all of us prison puppy trainers gathered together to select our next round of puppies who will be prepared for a life of service.

Choosing your perfect puppy is kind of a big deal because we will be living in a tiny cell with these doggos 24/7 for the next 8 months straight. If a trainer chooses a “hard one,” the next 240 days can get REALLY ROUGH. FYI: Mr. Conrad was considered a “hard one,” and we all know how THAT turned out. 😉

On Saturday, I got super lucky and was one of the first trainers to select from a long list of potential puppy candidates. I could have chosen ANY puppy I wanted.

That’s why the entire room of trainers was SHOCKED when I blindly and quickly chose Finn.

There was just something about his name that IMMEDIATELY spoke to me. I swear I heard an audible “that’s the one” when I looked at the list of names.

When I saw the adorable puppy picture of Mr. Finn and his big floppy ears, my heart was overcome with joy and excitement.

I’m telling you — he looks like Conrad’s twin brother. I could NOT believe it. Uggghhhh… God, You are so good!!!

Also, the fact that Mr. Finn’s report said he is high energy???
I mean C’MON!!! That is too dang funny. You can’t make this kind of stuff up. My good friend Mr. Conrad prepared me as a trainer for The Fantastic Mr. Finn.

Thank you, my big brown-eyed friend. I promise to make you proud!!!

Tomorrow at lunchtime, a super hyper and excited Finn will explode through our large metal chapel doors and steal a piece of my tender heart.

I take my job as a prison puppy trainer VERY seriously because I know Finn’s forever family is out there and desperately needs a miracle. It is my absolute privilege to prepare Finn for his future as a service dog. He is destined for greatness.

I already know Finn and I will face serious challenges while training and living inside a federal prison. That’s okay — we can overcome each obstacle one by one as a team. Mr. Conrad taught me that. "Thanks buddy!"

God continues to bring meaning and purpose to my prison journey. I already know I’m going to love Mr. Finn and his “high energy.”

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This morning I woke up early and was overwhelmed with gratitude for my prison journey. Tears were pouring down my face as my cellmate snored loudly two feet away from me.

I’M SO THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAIN PUPPIES IN PRISON AND MAKE MY FAMILY PROUD!!!

Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion — thank you for believing in me when I was at my worst. I promise to prove worthy of your never-ending love and support.

God continues to turn my mess into a miracle.

If anyone reading this right now is “going through it,” please know that GOD’S GOT YOU!!! Give it all over to Him.

Hopefully my current pain in prison is proof of God’s goodness. HE ALWAYS finds a way to bring purpose to our overwhelming pain if we allow it.

IT’S NOT EASY, BUT IT’S 100% WORTH IT!!!

“Thank you Lord Jesus for giving a broken man like me a second chance at life. I’m forever thankful for Your grace.”

The Adventures of The Fantastic Mr. Finn start in less than 24 hours.

I’m so dang excited and blessed.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my prison puppy trainer journey with all of you.

I will be sending Noel some absolutely adorable pictures of Mr. Finn soon so she can post them on Proud Prison Wives.

LET’S FREAKIN DO THIS, MR. FINN!!!

Love,
Brett (Mr. Finn’s Proud Prison Puppy Trainer)

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-A Note From Noél-

Oh Mr. Finn,
I hope you know how much the Bartlett family already adores you!!!

Cambria, Willow, Lula, Zion, and I believe in you, Finn. You are destined for greatness, big guy.

Finn, please, please love on Brett when he is sinking into the pit of prison and hurting to be home with his family. He needs to feel unconditional love behind that stupid barbed wire fence. I know you and Brett are going to accomplish incredible things, Mr. Finn. We are so excited to read about all your adventures together.

Our family will be praying for both of you every single night.
We will ask God to knit your hearts together for this season, to give you both supernatural strength, and to use your bond to bring healing, purpose, and joy behind those prison walls.
God put you two together for a reason — we can already feel it.

Your forever family needs you, Finn.
They need a walking miracle in a bright red service cape.

YOU WILL BE THAT MUCH NEEDED MIRACLE!!!

Uggghhhh, I hate prison and being thousands of miles away from Brett.

It seriously sucks!!!

But God is constantly surrounding our family during this painful prison journey and showing us “HE’S GOT US!!!”

I mean C’MON!!! This Finn story is just too much.

You can literally see God’s fingerprints pressed onto every detail — the timing, the name, the way he looks just like Conrad… all of it. Only God could orchestrate something this perfect and this needed in the middle of our suffering. It feels like He’s gently whispering,
“I am in every detail. I have not forgotten you.”

And yes… we are hurting. Badly.
The holidays without Brett feel like a gut punch to the stomach.
The loneliness is real. The grief is real.
The ache is sharp, raw, and painfully unfair.

But right in the middle of that darkness, God is STILL moving.
Healing is forming right alongside the heartbreak.
He is stitching us back together even as the tears fall.
He is writing purpose into places we thought were too broken to matter.

That is the beautiful part of God —
He holds our pain in one hand and our restoration in the other,
working on both at the same time.
THIS is the God we serve:
the One who begins redeeming us in the breaking, not just after.

Every lonely night, every tear we shed, every ache of missing Brett —
none of it is wasted.
What feels devastating to us becomes the starting point of redemption to Him.
What looks hopeless becomes HIS holy ground.

God is the great Redeemer and Healer —
the One who steps into the places that feel unbearable
and breathes hope straight into them.
He brings light to darkness, joy to sorrow,
and breakthrough right in the middle of the battle.

The Bartlett's are blessed!!

“Thank you Jesus for being with me and the kids when our hearts physically hurt.
Thank you for giving me strength to stand on the days I feel like I can’t move a muscle.
Thank you for showering me, Cambria, Willow, Lula, Zion, and Brett with love during this season of struggle.
You know You will never abandon us! We love You, Jesus, and trust You fully with our lives. Your will be done. AMEN!!!”

God is with us! 

Love,
Noél (A super fan of The Fantastic Mr. Finn)

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★ PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTE ★

Our family is working so hard over here to bring Brett home at the earliest possible opportunity. We all believe that spreading the SPEAK DOG message will help show the extraordinary transformation of Brett’s prison journey to the stakeholders involved in his custody.

PLEASE continue sharing SPEAK DOG with dog lovers around the world.
This book is truly something special and will transform the lives of every single reader.

I’m beyond thankful for all your support, and with your help, Brett will be home in our loving arms sooner rather than later — all because of YOU.

Love all of you so much!!!

(check out Speak Dog by tapping the picture below)