Superman’s dog Krypto is not the best-mannered canine in the new James Gunn-helmed blockbuster about the Man of Steel – but he does prove himself to be a capable sidekick and he has driven a real-world surge in pet adoption interest, if online search trends are any indication.
Searches by Google users for “adopt a dog near me” increased by 513% after Gunn’s Superman was released in US theaters during the weekend of 11 July, according to the Woofz dog training app, which cited its own analysis of the trends on the search engine. Searches for “rescue dog adoption near me” and “adopt a puppy”, meanwhile, respectively jumped by 163% and 31%.
Furthermore, Google searches for “adopt a schnauzer” rose by 299%, Woofz said on its website. That is revealing because – as the app noted – the CGI-created, red-caped Krypto which stars alongside David Corenswet’s Superman in Gunn’s flick evidently is a schnauzer and terrier mutt mix.
Pet lovers in the US, where nearly 6 million dogs and cats were placed into shelters and rescue centers nationwide in 2024 alone, generally met Woofz’s findings alongside Krypto’s scene-stealing turn with enthusiasm.
More than 450 pets were adopted across the US during the first 10 days of July, when Warner Bros – the studio which released Superman – collaborated with Best Friends Animal Society to cover animal adoption fees.
Nonetheless, in a statement first reported by the Wrap, Woofz’s chief executive officer, Natalia Shahmetova, made it a point to tell those seeking out their own Krypto that “adoption is a real commitment”.
“The hype will fade, but your dog will stay, so make sure you’re ready to give them the time, care, and training they need and deserve,” Shahmetova’s statement said.
Gunn has spoken publicly about how he based Krypto’s likeness and behavior on his own rescue dog, Ozu, whom the Superman director called “the world’s worst dog”.
When rescued from an owner who had hoarded about 60 dogs, Ozu wouldn’t let Gunn and his wife “pet him because he had never known human beings”, Gunn had said. “And he was biting my feet until they bled, ate my new $10,000 laptop, chewed up all my shoes and our furniture – and I was like, ‘Thank God he doesn’t have superpowers.’”
That gratitude over his dog’s lack of superpowers then gave the film-maker the idea to have Ozu “3D scanned and then digitally altered to resemble” Krypto – who is overly excitable, easily distracted and benevolently disobedient, but fearlessly goes into battle alongside Gunn’s version of Superman, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
During one particularly poignant scene, Corenswet’s Superman laments how Krypto is “not even a very good” dog at a time when the pair are apart.
“But he’s out there alone, and he’s probably scared,” the Last Son of Krypton says, before leaving to try to reunite with him and grapple with various enemies.
