Bret Michaels on adopting the dog named for him: 'I could not have been more honored'

Poison front man Bret Michaels has adopted a 6-year-old husky named Bret Michaels.

The rocker learned of the dog with whom he shares a name and now a home on Tuesday, Oct. 17, through a Facebook post by the Nebraska Humane Society about the dog donating blood to a stray kitten suffering through something known as flea anemia.

"When a kitten’s life was hanging in the balance," the post read, "6-year-old husky Bret Michaels stepped up to save the day."

According to the post, the staff at the Humane Society was working on stray kittens:

"Yesterday our medical staff was working on a trio of month-old kittens who had been brought in as strays. They were dirty, cold, and covered in fleas. After a much-needed bath, two of the kits were doing well, but the third seemed a little bit 'off.' He was wobbly, weak, and lethargic."

The kitten needed blood and couldn't wait for testing to be done to determine a suitable feline donor.

"But veterinary science has a trick up its sleeve, the post read. "Canine blood can be transfused into felines."

It's a common practice called xenotransfusion.

Enter Bret Michaels.

The dog, not the singer.

"Since Bret had bloodwork done just the other day, our vets knew he was a good candidate to donate," the post continued. "Soon after the first round of transfusion, little man started showing signs of improvement. He had a sleepover with one of our vets and now he’s resting with his siblings."

The post ended with "Bret Michaels is waiting patiently for his forever family. Be his hero today."

When Bret Michaels the singer got wind of Bret Michaels, the husky

Enter Bret Michaels.

The singer this time, not the dog.

The rocker, who has divided his time between a home in north Scottsdale and his L.A. ranch for more than 15 years, was so moved by the story that his team reached out in the comments to that Facebook post.

"Hi — Team Bret reaching out to you about this," Team Bret wrote. "What an absolutely amazing story! We sent you a private message as well — Bret would like to explore adopting Bret Michaels (the dog). Please get in touch with us as soon as you can. Thank you!!"

Three days after that initial post, the Nebraska Humane Society shared the happy news that Bret Michaels (the singer) had adopted Bret Michaels (the dog).

"Well, word got around to THE Bret Michaels who loved the story and wanted to chat with us," the post read.

"One phone call later and guess who's gonna be living the rock star life from here on out? That's right! Bret Michaels (the man) is adopting Bret Michaels (the dog)! We can't wait to see how he thrives in his new home, we just hope it doesn't get too confusing when someone tells Bret Michaels to fetch!"

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Bret Michaels says, 'This story brought a smile back into my family's life'

The singer shared a statement with People magazine.

"I could not have been more touched and more honored to adopt Bret Michaels the husky, knowing that he gave blood to save the life of a kitten," the rocker said. "I could not work fast enough to adopt this husky and extend the awesome quality of little Bret Jr.'s life."

As you can see, the Poison frontman has added a Junior to the husky's name to avoid confusion.

The People story said the adoption comes shortly after Michaels lost his 14-year-old German shepherd Phoenix earlier this year.

"So this story brought a smile back into my family's life," he told People. "I work diligently with my family and many people to save and improve the lives of many pets. We have always donated to incredible pet drives and charities, and will continue to [home] Bret Jr., who ... has now found a loving family that also includes our two rescue shepherds, Nova and Draco."

Bret Michaels' deep connection to metro Phoenix

In addition to having lived all those years in north Scottsdale, Michaels credits St. Joseph’s Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix with having saved his life.

That's where Michaels was treated in 2010 for a brain hemorrhage and again in 2011 for a procedure to close a hole in his heart. A year after that second procedure, he opened the Bret Michaels Hospitality and Music Room at St. Joseph's Hospital.

The singer is currently touring the States on his Parti-Gras Tour. In 2022, he stole the show at State Farm Stadium while leading Poison through the hits that helped make the hair-metal '80s nothin' but a good time, as he's been known to sing, when the Stadium Tour with Motley Crue and Def Leppard hit Glendale.

As The Republic noted at the time, "Bret Michaels is, in many ways, the perfect charismatic front man for this sort of concert, and because he's had a home in Scottsdale for more than a decade, he was able to address the crowd as not just fans but neighbors."

Three months after showing Vince Neil how it's done, Michaels was back in the Valley slinging burgers for veterans outside Grand Veterans Village, a shelter run by U.S. Vets, a national nonprofit that houses about 180 veterans transitioning from homelessness to housing on Grand Avenue just south of Indian School Road.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bret Michaels (rock star) adopts Bret Michaels (dog) who saved a kitty