Rocker Adopts 'Hero' Dog Named for Him

Bret Michaels has a new dog, also named Bret Michaels. It's actually quite a touching story, as told by People. Firstly, it's important to know that Michaels didn't name the dog himself. The Poison frontman only heard about the 6-year-old husky after the Nebraska Humane Society announced the dog—found wandering in September and named by staff members as part of a "rock star" theme—had given a life-saving blood donation to a stray kitten who was battling flea anemia, a common cause of death in young cats and dogs. Transfusions of canine blood to cats is safe and easier than transfusions between cats as there's no need for blood typing. This kitten had only hours to live and the canine Bret Michaels had undergone a full exam and blood work days prior, making him an excellent donor candidate.

"It's not very often that our own dogs get a chance to be the hero!" staff wrote in an Oct. 17 Facebook post, per the Washington Post. Michaels was so "touched" when he heard the story that he reached out to the Humane Society with an offer to adopt his namesake. "I could not work fast enough to adopt this husky and extend the awesome quality of little Bret Jr.'s life," the 60-year-old tells People. The timing was right for Michaels, whose 14-year-old German shepherd Phoenix died earlier this year. As the musician puts it to People, "this story brought a smile back into my family's life." He notes Bret Jr. "has now found a loving family that also includes our two rescue shepherds, Nova and Draco." The Post reports the saved kitten was named Thorn in honor of Poison's hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." (More Bret Michaels stories.)