Leading up to the premiere of Superman last Friday everyone was lusting after hot blonde Nicholas Hoult. Like a true villain, the man was out to kill us with his new hair and style game. There was even a mild panic that Lex Luthor was upstaging the hero, Superman, aka David Corenswet. Hate to break it to you, boys, but you’re both just playing for second. Because the star of the show is, undeniably and rightly so, Krypto the superdog!! Filmmaker James Gunn revealed in October that the comic canine would play a role in the caper, after Gunn adopted his own pup Ozu while writing Superman. Ozu was such a holy terror that Gunn decided to make lemons out of my-dog-ate-my-laptop and write a rascal into the film. Well, whatever havoc Ozu wrought when newly rescued, he has paid it forward in dividends: not only is Superman a hit at the box office, but Krypto’s inclusion in the story has led to a 500% increase in google searches for dog adoptions. Good boy!

David Corenswet may technically be the star of James Gunn’s “Superman,” but the Man of Steel’s dog — well, foster dog, really — Krypto is proving to have a real world impact too. Thanks to the film, there’s been a surge in dog adoption interest.

In the movie, Superman is often tormented by, but also assisted in battle by Krypto the superdog who is … not well-trained. He’s devoted though, and proves capable in battle (don’t worry, the pup comes out just fine in the end). And, following his appearance in the film, viewers are looking into adopting pups like him.

According to the dog training app Woofz, Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” jumped up 513% after the opening weekend of “Superman,” while the more specific “rescue dog adoption near me” rose by 163%.

Indeed, Krypto is actually based on James Gunn’s own rescue dog Ozu, who the director adopted while writing the film. As the story goes, Gunn was having trouble training the pup, and wondered how much worse things would be if Ozu had superpowers. And thus, Krypto joined the story.

According to Woofz’s findings, searches for “adopt a puppy” also increased by 31% and users even searched Krypto’s breed specifically. Searches for “adopt a schnauzer” spiked 299%, as Krypto appears to be a mix between a Terrier mutt and a Schnauzer (he is entirely CGI, though he is modeled after Ozu’s body and breed as well).

Celebrations of the spike aside, Woofz’ CEO Natalia Shahmetova noted in a statement 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.”

Additionally, Warner Bros. teamed up with Best Friends Animal Society and covered pet adoption fees from July 1-10, leading up to the film’s release on the 11th. In total, there were 454 pets adopted during that time across the nation.

[From The Wrap]

First of all, shout out to our friends at Pajiba for putting us on the scent of this story! Which I was very happy to read once I’d gotten over their accompanying pic of Krypto donning his super-cape, and the subsequent reverie I went on imagining my long-haired Chihuahua My Guy (also a rescue!) in a cape of his own. I have a very rich inner life. But yes, dogs are superheroes all on their own, and I’m thrilled that Krypto has led to a spike in people researching adoption! In fact, all of the promotional roll out for this film has been beautifully dog-forward. When James Gunn broke the news we were getting a Krypto in the movie, he timed the announcement to coincide with “Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.” And then Gunn made a video that nearly had me in tears to promote that Best Friends Animal Society tie in leading up to the film’s release. But the Woofz CEO is correct that dog adoptions should always be made thoughtfully. Make no bones about it, floofs of all shapes and sizes are expensive! But the upshot is undying love, and as we recently learned, a possible reduction in cognitive decline. And those are priceless.

photos are screenshots from YouTube and via Instagram/James Gunn