A defining moment from my childhood was when my mom and dad agreed that my brother and I were old enough for a family pet. At the time, I was more focused on having a new cute plaything than thinking about everything involved with owning a dog. But when we finally brought him home and I was asked to feed, walk, train and care for him, I quickly realized my parents were right when they said taking care of a dog was a "big responsibility".

I often wonder whether some of Shanghai's dog owners understand the responsibility of dog ownership. There is hardly a day when I don't see someone in my apartment compound walking a dog around without a leash or letting that dog use the sidewalk as its toilet - and leaving the mess there for the world to enjoy. While I hope that Shanghai can be more of a "pet-friendly" city, the problems of urban pet ownership deserve attention.

Shanghai's new one-dog policy, which restricts dog ownership to one per household, will have the clout of hefty fines to prevent irresponsible dog ownership when it goes into effect on May 15. But many are wondering what effect it will have on the city's dog-related problems. The law may have stemmed from the more than 600,000 unregistered dogs in the city, too much poop on the streets, increases in dog attacks and complaints of dogs barking, but it's not clear that limiting the number of dogs per household will solve these problems.