Superman's Dog Krypto Boosts Pet Adoption Searches

Krypto the Superdog might just overshadow Superman himself, effortlessly stealing every scene he appears in. This mischievous yet lovable super-powered canine gives Superman as much trouble as he does assistance. Could Krypto now be more popular than Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, or even the Man of Steel? One thing's certain—when we left the theater last weekend, my kids couldn't stop talking about him.

Krypto's impact on audiences appears even greater than predicted. According to The Wrap (citing data from dog-training app Woofz), Google searches for "adopt a dog near me" skyrocketed 513% following Superman's release last weekend. Similarly, searches for "rescue dog adoption near me" rose by 163%.

Other pet-related searches saw smaller but still significant spikes: "adopt a puppy" increased by 31%, and—perhaps ambitiously—users sought out Krypto’s exact breed, with "adopt a schnauzer" surging 299%. (Since Krypto is a CGI extraterrestrial, his breed remains unspecified—why hasn't anyone asked writer-director James Gunn for clarification yet?)

What *is* confirmed is the real-life inspiration behind Krypto: Gunn’s own adopted rescue dog, Ozu. Gunn has shared that after bringing home one-year-old Ozu—who had minimal prior human interaction—the pup wreaked havoc, chewing furniture and even nipping at his feet. That chaos sparked an idea: What if Ozu had superpowers? Thus, Krypto—and Gunn’s vision for Superman—was born.

Responding to reports of Krypto-driven adoption interest, Gunn wrote online, "This film has been a series of blessings for me—but this might be the greatest one yet."

***Warning!** Spoilers for Superman ahead:*