eh?

Methinks you are getting bent out of shape.

Do you know nothing about dogs? German Shepherds are intelligent, generally friendly, medium-sized dogs. Provided that the parents know that this particular dog has a good personality, they would not have any problem with a girl walking with a German Shepherd. Better than out on her own, in fact, because German Shepherds can be very protective.

Of course, dogs can sometimes decide to take off on their own for a bit, even while being walked, so that is not surprising either.

Finally, despite the warnings about stranger danger, kids figure out that not every stranger is a danger, and can often be quite friendly. They have a pretty good sense of who they can trust. Better than adults, I think.

All in all, there is nothing about this story that I find odd. She'd look for a policeman? Not every community has a cop on every corner. Plenty of communities don't have a cop around for miles, unless they're responding to a call. Go home to tell her parents? Even if she's a latch-key kid? Even if she was on her way home with the dog when the dog took a detour?

Hell, it wasn't that long ago that there were plenty of communities where kids younger than nine regularly handled guns. Dogs are nothing.