First on "CBS Mornings," Bastian takes home the title of "People's" World's Cutest Rescue Dog. His owner, Joelle, shares their story.

Bastian, a dog rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Florence, has been announced as the winner of People's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest. Bastian was found with his sister in South Carolina and later adopted in New Jersey after being the only dog not chosen at his adoption event. 

Bastian's owner, Joelle, shared that he uses recordable communication buttons to express his needs, which has helped him gain confidence since his rescue. As part of his win, Bastian will be featured in People magazine, and a $1,000 donation will be made in his honor to the Burlington County Animal Alliance of New Jersey.

Meet Bastian, winner of "People's" World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest

Welcome back to CBS Mornings. We have a very exciting talk of the table for you. We get to announce the winner of People's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest. And last month, we showed you the top three finalists. Do you do sports? I do. I do, and that's why I'm getting the top sports bag right now. It was Apollo, Bastion, and Tiki. Uh-oh. First, on CBS Mornings, we can announce the winner of People's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest. Drum roll, please. It is Bastion! Bastion! Bastion is here, along with his mom, Joelle. Whoa. Hey, Bastion. Hi, good morning. Hey. What's going on, Bastion? How's it going? How you doing? Nice kerchief. What's going on? You say hello? Hello, how are you doing? What a cutie. All right, so how do you feel? Hello to you as well. Hi. I mean, let's be honest. Joelle, you're a cutie. Thank you. Congratulations. How do you feel? Oh my god, this has been like, it's been so surreal. And a rescue from Hurricane Florence, right? He was found waiting in the floodwaters with his sister. And yeah, he was rescued in South Carolina and brought up to New Jersey, where he came home with me. Did the sister make it too? She did. She did. But she's in another home. She is. In fact, he was the only dog not adopted at his adoption event. Oh, wow. And then I got to come and grab him. So what is this right here, this little contraption? So these are his communication buttons. They're recordable buttons. And so I can record any word I want on them. Ha, he wants to go home? He wants to go home. OK. A couple more minutes. Does he know what that means? Yes, he does. Can you tell him to say something, and he can do it? It's not really cued. It's more about giving them agency and their own care. Oh, to say something. And so it allows him, when we're traveling, to bring these buttons and ask to go home or outside. And what are the buttons? What else is on there? So he has walk, outside, treat, water. I see hello. All done. Hello, goodbye, help, come, and home. How old is Bastion? Seven. Did you dye his hair with the red up top? It's natural. No, it's not. How is Bastion? How has he grown over the years since the rescue? So he was very shut down. I think the reason he wasn't chosen was because people are always looking for that love at first sight moment. And the dog comes up to them and chooses them. And now we have, here you go, here you go. And now we have, how old is he? He's seven. Seven. Yeah. Bastion's seven. And I think the buttons have really helped in giving him a voice in his own care. Oh, well, congratulations. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. Such a beautiful, all right, Tony, relax. All right, in addition to this prestigious title of world's cutest rescue dog, Bastion has a feature in People. Plus $1,000 will be donated in his honor to the organization that rescued him. It's the Burlington County Animal Alliance of New Jersey, among other prizes.

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