My Pet World: Pets have helped Bret Michaels to survive
Bret Michaels is more than a showbiz survivor; he’s a survivor. Period.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is the reason for, and the ruin for, all things in my life,” he says.
Like many rock ‘n’ roll survivors, he has overcome his share of demons. Today, Michaels thanks doctors, changes in his lifestyle and a Siberian husky named Nicholas.
The year was about 1990, Michaels recalls.
“It was overnight. I was having a very bad low blood sugar drop, around the high 20s or low 30s. I don’t know if Nicholas picked up on a scent or saw me getting increasingly restless in bed. I was about to go into insulin shock, and I might have died if he didn’t jump on the bed and alert my manager, who gave me orange juice and a glucagon shot [to increase blood glucose] — and I was fine in moments.”
Fans of old-school heavy metal know Michaels as the front man for Poison. Others know him from the highest rated VH1 show ever, “Rock of Love.” And Michaels won “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010.
The star has been battling Type-1 diabetes since he was 6. A series of health scares were played out in front of America during his final weeks of “Celebrity Apprentice.”
It began with an emergency appendectomy. Less than two weeks later, Michaels was back in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage, which was followed by a transient ischemic attack. (TIA occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain stops for a brief time, triggering stroke-like symptoms. A TIA is felt to be a warning sign of an impending stroke.)
This was followed by heart surgery. Michaels is 49.
“I’ve been so blessed. I know it sounds very clichéd, but when you go through something like that and come out the other side doing just fine,” he says, pausing. “I sure don’t take life for granted.”
Michaels says he was both surprised and thankful for the outpouring of public support as he faced each crisis. Today, he’s past the string of setbacks and is very busy creating rock ‘n’ roll gear, as well as toys and accessories for pets, with partner Petsmart.
Pets have been a part of Michael’s life since childhood. His first pet was a German shepherd his dad named Tarkus Arlicicus.
“It was some sort of Romanesque name,” Michaels says. “To be honest, I never knew why we named him that; we just called him Tark.” He says that having a pet helped teach him responsibility. Along came cats, horses and more dogs.
Today, Michaels’ menagerie includes two German shepherds (still his favorite breed), Diesel and Phoenix; horses Bo and Ness; and his pet rats, Harley and Charlie. He also talks lovingly of his beloved rats Marley and Chester, who passed away.
“I’m telling you, rats are smart, clean and friendly. It’s not like Ben and Willard. They’re unbelievable,” Michaels says. “We need to create some rat toys.”
While the rat toys haven’t yet materialized, his Pets Rock line of toys and accessories will be available in stores and online this summer, with a line of cat toys called Look What the Cat Dragged In coming in the fall.
“Love me or hate me, it doesn’t matter. You’ll love the ball with my face on it,” Michaels says and laughs. “Dogs can fetch me, or not. Maybe they’d rather bury me in the yard.”
Michaels says he had a hand in designing everything, then “the pet experts” insured that each product would be safe. In addition to toys, the collection includes stylish dog T-shirts. Of course, Michaels’ trademark bandanas are replicated so pets can wear them. One dog bed is pink, but a skull with wings adds macho rock ‘n’ roll appeal.
There’s even a rock tour bus dog toy. Inside the toy bus are other toys, band members, groupies and a driver. It’s the toy that keeps on giving. As the dog shakes the bus, a band member or groupie might fall out.
STEVE DALE welcomes questions/comments from readers. Send email to petworld@stevedale.tv.