Puppy Arrives at FHC

Family Health Center of Battle Creek added a new member, Barnabas, to its team on December 22, 2006. Barnabas, an Australian labradoodle (Labrador retriever and standard poodle mix) was born October 30, 2006, in Middleville, Michigan. He will be trained to be a therapy dog like CJ who is well-known and loved by our patients and staff. As many people know, CJ’s name stands for Comfort and Joy.

What does Barnabas’ name mean? Barnabas was a first century disciple who is mentioned often in the book of Acts in the Bible; in fact only Paul and Peter are referred to more. And, yet, people often don’t recognize the name Barnabas. Why? Because he lived to serve others. His given name was Joseph, but he was nicknamed Barnabas because it meant “son of encouragement”. Barnabas came alongside people in times of challenge and helped them. Pet therapy is used to provide comfort, joy, and encouragement to our patients when visiting the Center. Once Barnabas is trained, he will be out “serving patients” and helping to provide some encouragement to their day.