The World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Winner Went from Hurricane Waters to a Home Where He’s Learned to Talk with 100 Buttons (Exclusive)

While searching for her first dog, Joelle Andres saw a photo of a scrappy-looking rat terrier on a pet adoption site and was immediately drawn to his face.

“His eyes were very soulful, but he looked kind of shut down and forlorn,” she tells PEOPLE. She quickly put in an application, but learned the pup was on his way to an adoption event she couldn’t attend because of a wedding the same weekend.

Andres, 41, accepted that the pup named Bastian would likely find a different home, so she was surprised when Burlington County Animal Alliance of New Jersey contacted her and said Bastian was the only pet not adopted at the event. Upon hearing this, Andres, a special education administrator who lives in Levittown, N.Y., drove hours through torrential rain to meet Bastian in person.

“He was just a little, sad, skinny boy. I held him, and I was like, ‘That’s it. You’re coming home with me,'” she says of adopting him in October 2018. The 7-year-old canine’s “gotcha” day is Oct 11.

Now Bastian has two merry occasions to celebrate: his adoption anniversary and his grand prize win in the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest.

Like Andres, thousands of voters in PEOPLE’s 2025 World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest presented by the PEDIGREE® Brand fell in love with Bastian and his expressive face‚ including the competition’s celebrity judges Kristin Davis, Shawn Johnson East, and the hosts of CBS Mornings — who announced Bastian’s win on the show.

The support helped Bastian clinch the title and grand prize, beating over thousands of other dogs. Bastian’s grand prize includes a year’s supply of dog food from the PEDIGREE® Brand and a $1,000 donation to a rescue of Andres’s choice. She has chosen the shelter that adopted out Bastian, the Burlington County Animal Alliance of New Jersey.

“I thought it was an accident, and then I started crying,” Andres says of her reaction to learning of Bastian’s win. “I just felt such pride, and I’m still in disbelief.”

There is a good reason to be proud. Bastian has come a long way from the “shut-down, skittish” 9-lb. pup who was rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas in 2018 before being transported to New Jersey to find a home. “If you went to pet him, his ears would go back, and his eyes would kind of dart around,” Andres says about Bastian’s early behavior, noting the dog also suffered from separation anxiety.

She stayed patient with the pup, establishing a routine that included long walks, visits to dog-friendly spots for socialization, and plenty of reassuring attention. The regular activity was exciting and soothing for Bastian, a high-energy dog that often gets 30,000 steps a day and still has pep to play catch with a frisbee.

Nearly five months after his adoption, Bastian’s sunny, energetic personality began to emerge.

To strengthen her bond with Bastian and give him some agency in his care, Andres began training the dog to use communication buttons. They started with “treat”—Andres recorded the word on the button, encouraged the dog to press it, and then gave him a snack each time he did. Bastian quickly picked up on the tasty test.

Today, he uses a communication board that includes around 100 buttons, such as “walk” and “outside,” as well as more complex, newer ones, like “ouch” and “paw,” which Andres added in an attempt to explain his broken toe to the pet.

Bastian impresses animal lovers with his button mastery on Instagram (@bastianandbrews), where he has more than 130,000 followers. Researchers have also used videos of the clever canine using his communication board to study and better understand dog behavior and cognition.

“He’s really shown me a lot of resilience and determination. He’s got a tremendous amount of confidence now,” she says with a laugh. “So much sometimes to a fault.”

The dog’s growing self-esteem and quick learning skills have helped Andres achieve her “childhood dream of being able to communicate with animals.” However, the dog mom admits that she is cautious about reading too much into Bastian’s button communication skills.

“You can’t say, ‘Did you mean this?’ That’s the hard thing, knowing with absolute confidence whether what you’re assuming they mean is what they mean,” Andres says, adding that when interpreting Bastian’s use of his communication board, she looks for body language and repetition.

She’s seen the dog use the board to seemingly express his emotions about situations at home. An example Andres offers involves her late cat, Kylie, who was a senior when Bastian arrived. After the dog started using his buttons, Kylie developed kidney disease, which took a physical toll on the feline. Throughout Kylie’s illness, Bastian would check in on his cat friend by pressing his “concerned” button and sniffing and looking at the cat. At times, Bastian’s persistent check-ins would lead Andres to take Kylie to the vet for an exam, where the veterinarian would often find that the cat’s medication needed adjustment.

“Kylie’s prognosis was not great, but they actually told us she probably had six months to a year. And she ended up living over two years past that date because Bastian was constantly, seemingly, medically alerting us with his board,” Andres shares.

Bastian now lives with Andres, her mother, Gerry Andres, and her pet cat, Westley, whom Joelle adopted from Oyster Bay Animal Shelter in June 2024.

“He loves deeply the people that he loves. He’s got some very strong friendships,” Joelle says of Bastian’s life today, counting new cat Westley among the dog’s close pals.

Bastian is not alone in the winner’s circle of the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest; two runners-up joined the pooch in the competition’s top three.

Apollo is a 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the Holbrooks’ first family pet. The pup, adopted from Shih Tzu and Furbabies Rescue, was saved from a “breeding operation” and now spends his days binge-watching TV with 15-year-old April Holbrook, accepting belly rubs, and keeping his family company during household chores.

“The way he has improved our lives is immeasurable, and so adopting is just a small way that we can give back to the animals that give us so much,” April’s mom, Leah Holbrook, says.

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The other canine runner-up is Tiki, a 5-year-old rescue dog whose foster journey went viral. Aubrie D’Angelo adopted the pup from his Muddy Paws Rescue foster in June 2025.

“I immediately fell in love with him and knew we could provide the perfect home for Tiki to blossom and thrive,” D’Angelo says.

Tiki, who experienced severe neglect before his rescue, has slowly revealed his curious, silly, and loving side to his new family. He has also conquered his fear of walks and recently enjoyed his first camping trip.

“He carries so much expression in his eyes, and I love catching him watching and observing me. It melts my heart every time,” D’Angelo says about one of the many perks that come with caring for Tiki.