It had all started, oddly enough, on a cold and rainy night. The Burkhardt family was settling in for the evening, in their new home, when Nick heard the most pitiful crying out side the door.
The very moment he opened the door, a grey and white mess scurried in. The thing was completely drenched, and stared up at Nick, meowing miserably.
He of course, scooped up the poor cat and took it into the kitchen, where he was quickly joined by the rest of the family. They all pitched in, getting it dried off and finding it something to eat.
"I don't see any collar on her." Adalind observed. "She could be lost, or abandoned."
"Mean people had her." Diana said. "They just threw her away, like she was nothing to them."
"I can always check the local animal shelters. See if anyone's searching for a grey and white tabby. But, she's really skinny. I think Diana's right and this cat was neglected and abandoned."
"So we can keep her, dad, please." Diana looked up at Nick, hopefully.
"Pretty kitty." Kelly said, stroking his little fingers over the cat's fur, getting it to purr.
Nick and Adalind look at eachother, wordlessly confirming that they were agreeing to keep the cat.
"We need to think of a name for her." Adalind advised. "We should also take her to get checked over. Make sure she doesn't have any health problems, and to get her fixed, if she's not already."
The family too their new cat to the local shelter, that also offered services for taking care of pets. Such as, getting them fixed, giving them all of their necessary shots, and even injecting a tracking chip, so in case the pet was lost, the family could always be located, as long as someone scanned the chip.
It was while they were waiting for their cat, whom they decided to call storm, to be returned to them, that Diana had wandered into the room with the dogs.
The little girl went right to a cage that contained a dog that looked to be german shepherd mix.
"This is our dog." Diana announced when Nick and Adalind followed her in.
"That dog is far too dangerous." A woman who worked there tried to warn the family. "He's far too aggressive for a family with little children and a cat."
"This is our dog." Diana says with more force. "He won't hurt any of us. He won't hurt Storm either."
"We want to adopt that dog." Nick says.
The paperwork is filled out and the money is paid. When the family leaves the animal shelter, it is with a dog, whom they called Thorn, and a cat called Storm.
"We're like the picture perfect little family." Adalind says softly, smiling dreamily.
Nick smiles affectionately at her. She was right. They had their picture perfect family. Complete with pets. Everything he had ever wanted, ever dreamed of.