Remembering Meredith Emerson

While I didn't know Meredith Emerson her disappearance and the subsequent news of her death really shook me up. Eyewitness accounts said that Emerson's alleged murderer was able to get close to her because his dog and her dog were interacting with each other on the north Georgia trail where she was last seen.

That is one thng about having a dog and visiting parks and trails; you tend to let your guard down with people who are also dog owners/lovers because of that common bond. I read somewhere in the coverage of Emerson's disappearance that she probably would not have spoken with Hilton if she'd met him on the street but since they both had dogs she likely let the stranger get close to her.

I walk our dog in the morning darkness (we usually leave the house about 6:15am) and our route takes us through an empty field and past several completely unlit areas such as an overpass several blocks from our house. Some mornings I look into the darkness and wonder if anyone is there, and wonder what would I do if someone approached us from the darkness. If someone approached us and they were walking with a dog I know my guard would be lower than if they were alone.