Bret Michaels Says Being a Dog Dad to Rescue Pup with the Same Name Is 'Life-Changing in Such a Positive Way' (Exclusive)

Bret Michaels is one proud dog dad!

In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE ahead of A&E’s new biopic series on the rock star’s life and career, Michaels, 61, talks about adopting a dog — named Bret Michaels Jr. — last year, as well as his general love of animals.

“Having pets, having dogs, has been incredibly life-changing in my life in such a positive way,” he says. “The love they give is unconditional. There are no strings attached to it. It’s just great.”

“And if we can give them back a much better life, that’s good [thing]”, adds the frontman of the group Poison.

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Bret Michaels.

A&E Television Networks, LLC; Devin Yalkin

Bret Michaels Adopts Dog Named After Him After Donating Life-Saving Blood To Kitten (Exclusive)

Last year, Bret Jr. — who is a 6-year-old husky — gave a life-saving blood donation to a kitten battling flea anemia at the Humane Society of Nebraska, the facility said in a Facebook post.

After the story got back to Michaels, he reached out to an animal organization and adopted a dog named after his character.

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“I couldn’t be more moved and honored to adopt Bret Michaels’ husky, knowing that he gave blood to save the kitten’s life,” the rocker told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement at the time.

“I couldn’t work fast enough to adopt this husky and extend little Bret Jr.’s fantastic quality of life,” he added.

Bret Michaels; Bret Jr.

Kevin Winter/Getty; Nebraska Humane Society

Bret Michaels Shares Update on Rescue Dog ‘Free Spirit’ Bret Jr.: He’s ‘A Bit of an Outlaw’

According to Michaels — who’s currently on his Parti-Gras 2.0 tour — he’s “been a pet parent my whole life.”

His first dog was a dog named Tark, and Michaels says having a pet is “good for their life and good for our souls.”

The rest of his family also loves animals as much as he does.

“My whole family, we rescue pets 24/7, and that’s a big part of what we do, along with my foundation, Life Rocks,” she says of her nonprofit.

Biography: Bret Michaels premieres on A&E June 16 at 9:00 PM EST. It will be available to stream the next day.

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Source: HIS Education