When Atlantans Chantel and John Anderson recently stopped off in Greenville on their way back home from the beach, they expected to find food, gas and a good place to stretch their legs (and those of their German Shepherd).

What they didn't expect to discover was a friendly stray tomcat waiting to greet them outside the local Burger King restaurant. The animal-loving Andersons seemed to bond immediately with the stray and the full-grown feline was soon

"makin' biscuits" on Mrs. Anderson's legs like a contented little kitten.

However, it wasn't love at first sight for the tom when it sighted the family pooch.

One good look at the dog and the frightened cat took off.

The Andersons ate their meal and hit the road. That should have been the end of the story.

Never underestimate the determination of a pet lover.

The Andersons called the Greenville Animal Shelter when they got back to Atlanta and pleaded for someone there to try and capture the stray cat. They planned to then return to the Camellia City and adopt the stray.

However, the capture concept proved much easier in theory than in reality, as Butler County Animal Shelter Manager Kandys Killough explains.

"We went out there and tried on several occasions to get that cat

the people at Burger King tried to help us out, too.

But none of us had any luck."

The Andersons proved to be as doggedly determined in obtaining the feline as the cat was in eluding capture.

"They called me and said they were coming to get the catthey asked about a place to stay in Greenville and I recommended the Comfort Inn.

My husband Rock and I stayed there while we were moving back to the area and I knew it was a nice, safe, pet-friendly placeand very convenient to Burger King," says Killough.

Two-and-a-half weeks after their initial stop in Greenville, the Andersons drove back to the city on a Friday evening after work.

"They arrived at the motel about 11 p.m., checked in, took the cat carrier over to Burger King, and by 11:15 they had the cat securely in the carrier. Apparently, he remembered them and came right to them," notes Killough.

The following morning the couple stopped in at the animal shelter and gave a generous donation before heading home with their newest family member, who had been appropriately dubbed "Whopper."

"Believe it or not, they already had 10 catsbut Mrs. Anderson said Whopper had just really touched her heart," says Killough with a smile.