DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “SUPERMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Like many dog lovers, Melissa Bacelar cried watching the new Superman movie because of Krypto the Superdog, the Man of Steel’s canine sidekick. But her tears involved not just the touching scenes, but personally knowing Ozu, the rescue dog who inspired the character.

Ozu was one of 30 terrier mixes who landed at the municipal shelter in Riverside County, California, in the spring of 2022. The dogs had been living in a dilapidated yard with empty toilet bowls and were fearful of human touch. They’d been exposed to the deadly virus parvo and there was no space to care for them at the shelter.

Ozu came from a hoarding situation.

“The dogs had never been socialized or touched,” she said. “They were terrified.”

Fortunately, the staff knew to call Bacelar to see if her nonprofit rescue organization, Wagmor Pets, could take in another hoarding case. She couldn’t stand the thought of the........

© Forbes