Mom worried if new rescue dog had “bonded” with baby, then she caught them

A mom was worried her rescue dog might be struggling to bond with her infant daughter until one moment changed everything.

Katy Driscoll from Orange County, California, adopted Kaya from a local rescue last October. “Our previous dog Naga had passed away, and we knew we always wanted our daughter to have a dog in her life,” Driscoll told Newsweek. “We started looking around but didn’t think we’d actually find another dog who loved our daughter like our first dog did.”

The bond between a dog and their human is a strong one. In some cases, it’s the strongest. In April, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, based on a study of just over 700 dog owners, found they rated the relationship they had with their dogs as being as satisfying or more satisfying than their closest human relationship.

Driscoll and her daughter certainly enjoyed a close relationship with Naga. “We had Naga for almost 5 years, he had belonged to my brother but when he moved across the country, he couldn’t keep him so we gladly took him,” Driscoll said. “He was about 13 years old, and he sadly passed away in his sleep last summer.”

One of the things Driscoll missed most about Naga was his relationship with her 2-year-old daughter Nora. “He was an absolute angel of a dog who adored Nora from the moment she was born, so we were all devastated when we lost him,” she said.

Yet from the moment they first saw a picture of Kaya, Driscoll and her family were smitten. “When we saw Kaya’s fluffy sideburns, we knew we had to meet her,” she said.

Kaya loves all the things you would expect of a dog and a bit more besides: days are filled with games of fetch, snuggles and snacks of cheese and bell peppers. But there is something Kaya loves even more than all those things: Nora.

From the moment the two met, a bond was formed. “We were shocked that she bonded immediately with our toddler, and despite Kaya being scared and anxious, she never seemed scared of Nora,” Driscoll said.

However, Driscoll didn’t realize just how special it was until a recent naptime and a magical moment she captured and shared to her TikTok @katyrosedriscoll, showing how “bonded” they are. “Whenever Nora wakes up in the morning or from a nap, Kaya and I go into her room to get her up,” Driscoll said.

Normally, Nora was already awake when Driscoll and Kaya walked in, but that morning, she was sleeping in, so they had to go in to wake her up because it was getting late. That’s when Driscoll witnessed Kaya doing something adorable.

“I guess Kaya had never really seen Nora asleep, because she walked right up to her crib and just went completely still. She started sniffing her as if she was checking to make sure she was still breathing, which then woke my daughter up,” Driscoll said. “Once Kaya realized Nora was awake and ok, she got super excited and almost seemed relieved!”

In that one sweet gesture, Driscoll saw how much Kaya cared for Nora. It was truly special to witness. “We’ve loved Kaya since we adopted her, but watching her worry over my baby just showed me even more that we made the right choice with her,” she said.

Though Naga was a special dog, Driscoll feels blessed to have Kaya in their lives. “Naga was truly irreplaceable, but it does sometimes feel like he sent us Kaya to watch over Nora the way he used to,” Driscoll said.

She hopes their experience of adopting Kaya inspires others to take a chance on a rescue dog. “You might just find your child’s new best friend,” she said.