When a Texas family lost their home to a deadly flood over the Fourth of July weekend, they believed they had also lost their beloved dog. But in a heart-stopping moment days later, they discovered he had miraculously survived — in the most unexpected place. Cody Vlasek, a high school senior from Hunt, Texas, recounted the terrifying night of Friday, July 4, when their home was swallowed by rising floodwaters. “This used to be the living room,” Cody told KENS 5 as he pointed to the pile of debris where his childhood home once stood. “The river was right behind our fence, and the water rose fast — it reached our waists in no time.” As the flood hit in the middle of the night, Cody’s mother, Denise, was the first to wake up. With the water rapidly rising, the family barely had time to escape. They rushed uphill to a neighbor’s house, leaving everything behind — including their dog. “The current — it almost knocked some of us over,” Cody recalled. Within 20 minutes, the house was completely underwater.
Cody remembered hearing cries for help from nearby neighbors but said it was too dangerous to go outside. “It was awful,” he said. “You wanted to help, but deep down, you knew if you stepped outside, you might not make it.” Days later, as the family returned to the ruins of their home, Cody made a shocking discovery. While climbing back into the wreckage through a broken window, he heard something — faint scratching and a soft whimper. “I turned the corner and saw him,” Cody said. “He was just floating inside the washing machine.” Against all odds, their dog had managed to survive the flood by climbing into the washer, which somehow became his life raft. Overwhelmed with emotion, Cody said he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a moment of hope amid heartbreak. The Vlaseks were incredibly relieved to find their dog alive, but their community is still grappling with tragedy. The flood took the lives of several people the family knew, casting a shadow over their moment of joy. And the danger hasn’t passed. Just nine days after the floods that claimed the lives of 129 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Kerrville, new flash floods struck parts of Kerr County again on Sunday.
According to the New York Post, “life-threatening flash flooding” impacted both Kerr and Gillespie Counties, with rainfall reaching 1 to 2 inches per hour and some regions expected to get up to 12 inches. The National Weather Service issued a “considerable” flash flood warning for the region, pushing out emergency alerts to all mobile phones in the area. That warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Sunday and covered areas already devastated by last week’s historic flooding — including Hunt and Kerrville. As cleanup efforts continue and families begin to assess the damage, stories like Cody’s offer a glimmer of hope. His dog’s survival is a small but powerful reminder of resilience, even in the face of unimaginable loss. The road to recovery will be long for the Vlasek family and their community, but moments like these — unexpected and deeply emotional — remind everyone what truly matters.
