They Said this Husky is a Lost Cause - Watch the Truth
The video
Rocky Kanaka sits down on a shelter floor with a young dog who has shut down so completely that she barely moves. He doesn't push her. He waits. Eventually he tries what he calls "the scoop," gently lifting her onto his lap. Then he offers a treat. The payoff is a single, hesitant bite, and it's a bigger deal than it sounds.
Meet the dog and the channel
The dog is Princess. On his own site, Kanaka describes her as a 10-month-old Shepherd/Husky mix surrendered to Animal Friends of the Valleys in Wildomar, California, with "hardship" as the only reason given. She arrived unspayed and without a microchip, and she was in heat. Kanaka writes that this may point to a backyard breeding situation, though he's careful to say the details are unclear. Sundays for Dogs, which sponsored the video, agreed to cover her food for a year. Rocky Kanaka's channel is built around shelter visits like this one, mostly in his "Sitting with Dogs" series, and had about 5.73 million subscribers when we checked in November 2026.
How it blew up
The video and Kanaka's write-up both went up on September 6, 2024. The video had about 5.5 million views when we checked in November 2026. The title (they said she was a lost cause) is classic YouTube, but the content is slower and more patient than the title suggests. We didn't find any outside news coverage, and Kanaka's article doesn't say whether Princess has been adopted. If anyone can find out, it's a follow-up worth adding.
The husky science behind it
What Princess is doing has a name: freezing. In his write-up, Kanaka explains it as the fight, flight or freeze response, and it's often mistaken for calm. A frozen dog isn't relaxed. Huskies and husky mixes do especially badly in loud kennels, because they're social, sensitive to noise and built to move. A shelter can make a perfectly good dog look broken.
A practical tip
If you're meeting a scared shelter dog, sit sideways, don't stare, and let the dog come to you. Toss treats near the dog instead of holding them out. Ask whether you can meet the dog somewhere quieter, or whether a foster has notes. Ten calm minutes will tell you more than the kennel card.
If you loved this
- A husky abandoned on a roadside finds a family
- The Dodo's most intense husky rescues
- Find a husky rescue near you
Sources
- Rocky Kanaka on YouTube: the original video and its description
- Rocky Kanaka, "Watch the Moment Shut Down Husky Takes her First Dog Treat," September 6, 2024
- AKC: Siberian Husky breed overview (general breed background)