diff --git a/scripts/subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs b/scripts/subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
index 5f5742a..46b8908 100755
--- a/scripts/subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
+++ b/scripts/subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
@@ -231,6 +231,27 @@ function recomputeStatus(payload) {
   return 'active';
 }
 
+function decideRecoveryAction(payload, status) {
+  if (!payload || typeof payload !== 'object') {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  if (status !== 'done_but_not_forwarded') {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const attemptCountRaw = payload.recoveryAttemptCount;
+  const recoveryAttemptCount = Number.isFinite(attemptCountRaw)
+    ? attemptCountRaw
+    : Number.parseInt(String(attemptCountRaw ?? '0'), 10);
+
+  if (!Number.isNaN(recoveryAttemptCount) && recoveryAttemptCount >= 1) {
+    return 'respawn';
+  }
+
+  return 'fetch_history';
+}
+
 function main() {
   const args = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
 
@@ -244,6 +265,7 @@ function main() {
   const dispatchWrite = writeDispatchReceiptState(inputPayload);
   const completionWrite = writeCompletionReceiptState(inputPayload);
   const status = recomputeStatus(inputPayload);
+  const recoveryDecision = decideRecoveryAction(inputPayload, status);
 
   if ('content' in input) {
     delete input.content;
@@ -272,6 +294,7 @@ function main() {
       message: status === 'not_implemented'
         ? 'Dispatch and completion receipt writes are implemented; status recompute only handles basic active/suspect/completed states.'
         : 'Basic watchdog status recompute completed.',
+      recoveryDecision,
       records,
       dispatchReceiptWrite: dispatchWrite,
       completionReceiptWrite: completionWrite,
diff --git a/scripts/test_subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs b/scripts/test_subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
index 017a83b..f860977 100644
--- a/scripts/test_subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
+++ b/scripts/test_subagent_delivery_watchdog.mjs
@@ -202,6 +202,72 @@ ${result.stderr}`);
   }
 });
 
+
+
+test('watchdog prefers fetch_history recovery when child run is done but no forwarded completion receipt exists', () => {
+  const runner = createFixtureRunner();
+
+  try {
+    const inputPath = runner.writeFixture('dispatch-done-not-forwarded-recovery.json', {
+      runId: 'fixture-run-done-not-forwarded-recovery',
+      childSessionKey: 'session:done-not-forwarded-recovery',
+      dispatchAt: '2026-04-24T10:00:00.000Z',
+      expectedBy: '2026-04-24T10:10:00.000Z',
+      currentTime: '2026-04-24T10:05:00.000Z',
+      childRunStatus: 'done',
+      forwardedToMain: false,
+      recoveryAttemptCount: 0,
+    });
+
+    const result = runner.runWatchdog(['--compact', '--input', inputPath]);
+
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0, `expected zero exit status, got ${result.status}
+${result.stderr}`);
+    assert.equal(result.stderr, '');
+
+    const payload = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+    assert.equal(payload.ok, true);
+    assert.equal(payload.result.status, 'done_but_not_forwarded');
+    assert.equal(payload.result.recoveryDecision, 'fetch_history');
+  } finally {
+    runner.cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
+
+
+test('watchdog escalates to respawn when fetch_history recovery was already attempted and delivery is still not forwarded', () => {
+  const runner = createFixtureRunner();
+
+  try {
+    const inputPath = runner.writeFixture('dispatch-done-not-forwarded-respawn.json', {
+      runId: 'fixture-run-done-not-forwarded-respawn',
+      childSessionKey: 'session:done-not-forwarded-respawn',
+      dispatchAt: '2026-04-24T10:00:00.000Z',
+      expectedBy: '2026-04-24T10:10:00.000Z',
+      currentTime: '2026-04-24T10:06:00.000Z',
+      childRunStatus: 'done',
+      forwardedToMain: false,
+      recoveryAttemptCount: 1,
+      recoveryAction: 'fetch_history',
+      lastRecoveryAt: '2026-04-24T10:05:30.000Z',
+    });
+
+    const result = runner.runWatchdog(['--compact', '--input', inputPath]);
+
+    assert.equal(result.status, 0, `expected zero exit status, got ${result.status}
+${result.stderr}`);
+    assert.equal(result.stderr, '');
+
+    const payload = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+    assert.equal(payload.ok, true);
+    assert.equal(payload.result.status, 'done_but_not_forwarded');
+    assert.equal(payload.result.recoveryDecision, 'respawn');
+  } finally {
+    runner.cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
 test('fixture runner exposes missing-input behavior for future fail-first cases', () => {
   const runner = createFixtureRunner();