Earlier when I was listening to the playthrough of the MSQ by a content creator I had a realization.

In that moment when Poochie gets kidnapped and Koana tells us about how he was abandoned by his parents, he mentions how Poochie arrived some time after he had been adopted and how he felt the need to treat her as family because she was "cast out" just like he was.

...except that she was not cast out but rather, handed to Galool JaJa for her safety, and her father (who knows where the mother is), still cares enough for her to essentially rig the feat of repast for her.

So Koana basically got all this attachment towards her because he thought she was in the same position, but it's all based on a delusion.

I feel bad for Koana.