Bubba Wallace Shares Good News After Texas Floods — Adopts Orphaned Dog Whose Owner Died in Tragic Storm

In the wake of the devastating Texas floods that left communities heartbroken and homes underwater, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is offering a rare bit of good news — and it’s already bringing smiles and tears across social media.

Just days after returning from a visit to flood-affected areas, Wallace revealed that he has adopted a dog who lost its owner in the disaster. The pup, a mixed-breed retriever named Rusty, was found shivering atop a piece of debris, soaked and frightened, near the outskirts of Kerr County. Rescue workers later confirmed that Rusty’s owner, an elderly man named Thomas Miller, had tragically passed away in the floods while trying to save his pets.

Rusty was the only survivor.

When Bubba Wallace heard about the story, he asked his team to track down the shelter where Rusty was being held. Quietly and without fanfare, he made the decision to bring Rusty home.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about him,” Wallace said in a heartfelt Instagram post. “He’d just lost everything—just like so many others. I wanted to give him a second chance, just like we all need sometimes.”

The photo accompanying the post showed Bubba cradling Rusty on a porch, both looking directly into the camera, as if finding peace together amid chaos.

Wallace, known for his fierce competitive spirit on the track and his compassionate activism off of it, has long used his platform to speak up for those in need. But this gesture—intimate, quiet, and deeply personal—has resonated on an entirely new level.

Fans flooded the comments with support:

“This is the kind of heart that makes a true champion.”

“Rusty may have lost his best friend, but it looks like he found another.”

“You just made us all cry, Bubba. Thank you for showing up.”

Animal rescue organizations across Texas have praised Wallace for not only adopting Rusty but also pledging to fund veterinary care and adoption fees for other displaced pets in the flood’s aftermath. His foundation is working with local shelters to sponsor a “Second Leash on Life” program aimed at rehoming animals who lost their owners or were left behind during evacuations.

“There’s so much pain after something like this,” Wallace said, “but sometimes healing starts with one small act of love.”

For Rusty, that act of love came in the form of a second chance, a new leash, and a rider who refused to let him become just another forgotten name in a list of flood casualties.

And for the rest of us, it’s a reminder: even in disaster, there’s still room for compassion—and for new beginnings.