A 7-year-old dog rescued from floodwaters during Hurricane Florence has been named People magazine's World's Cutest Rescue Dog. The announcement was made on Wednesday exclusively on "CBS Mornings."

Bastian beat out two other finalists, Apollo and Tiki, for the top spot. He was found waiting in floodwaters with his sister during the 2018 hurricane in South Carolina. After his rescue, he was brought to New Jersey, where he was the only dog not adopted at an adoption event— until Joelle Andres, his now-owner, took him home. His sister was adopted into another family.

"This has been so, so surreal," Andres said about the contest on "CBS Mornings."

When he was first rescued, Bastian was described as "very shut down." Andres said many adopters look for "that love at first sight moment" when a dog instantly connects, but she decided to give him time to open up.

To help him communicate, Andres trained Bastian to use recordable buttons that say words such as "walk," "outside," "treat," "water," "hello" and "home." It was a way to give him agency in his own care, she said.

As the contest winner, Bastian will be featured in People magazine. The publication will also donate $1,000 in his honor to the Burlington County Animal Alliance of New Jersey, the group that helped with his rescue.


Bastian, a 7-year-old rescue from Hurricane Florence, beat out two other finalists, Apollo and Tiki, to win People magazine's World's Cutest Rescue Dog contest. CBS NEWS

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