Waltham golden retriever goes viral while bringing neighbors together

Driver, a golden retriever, sits at a front window just off Moody Street watching the world go by and greeting passersby who stop to feed him a treat and hang out.

About a year ago Haley Scott, Driver’s owner, taped a “kissing booth” sign to the windowsill and opened the window for anyone who wanted to stop by and say hello. 

“It was just something to brighten someone’s day,” she said. 

For months the kissing booth remained a small neighborhood tradition until a few weeks ago when someone posted a photo of Driver in the Waltham Residents Facebook group.

“It just snowballed from there,” Scott said. 

Driver’s Instagram following has grown from about 80 followers to 800 in a matter of weeks. After NBC10 Boston featured Driver, Scott was interviewed by USA Today, while companies began sending treats and other gifts. Scott said people now regularly message Driver’s Instagram account asking where to find him. 

On Thursday evening Scott opened the window once again. As people strolled down Moody Street, many stopped to greet Driver. One man pulled his car to the curb and walked over for a photo with the golden retriever before continuing on his way. 

Scott had just finished a full day meeting with clients as a therapist. She works part time at a community mental health center in Waltham and also runs her own private practice in Lexington.

Driver’s eyebrows raised each time someone approached the window. He placed his paws on the windowsill and perked up to receive them. 

Scott said Driver often accompanies her to her private therapy practice on Saturdays, where he works primarily with younger clients as a certified therapy dog. 

“He’s very aware of other people’s emotions,” Scott said. “He’ll really pick up on the person’s energy, and he’ll come over and be close to them.”

Scott brought Driver home as an 8-week-old puppy and named him in honor of her late father, a truck driver. Among truck drivers, “Driver” is commonly used as a term of respect. While Scott was in graduate school, her father promised to buy her a puppy once she completed her degree. Her father died suddenly before she graduated, and after commencement her aunt fulfilled his promise by buying Driver for her. 

Scott’s upstairs neighbor, Adam Sack, also stopped by Thursday evening after taking Driver and his own dog, Archie, on an outing earlier in the day while Scott was at work.

“They’re definitely best friends,” Sack said. “Archie comes down every night and turns the corner and looks for Haley and Driver and waits patiently by the window.” 

On her way home from dinner on Moody Street, Kelly Anson, who lives nearby, stopped to say hi to Driver. Anson’s dining companion had wondered whether the kissing booth might be open, and Anson was excited to find that it was.

“It brings a good sense of community, and makes you feel more welcome, more at home,” she said. “Just nice, lovely vibes.”

As Driver’s popularity has grown, Scott said she hopes visitors will continue to respect the neighborhood by only stopping when the kissing booth is open and by keeping its exact location a surprise. 

“There’s something special about finding something unexpectedly,” she said.