FEW people I know are as frightened of dogs as my girlfriend, who while strolling with me freaks and scurries off at the sight of a dog, even if it is leashed, docile and at a distance.

Before our paths cross, I often have to shoo it away, thereby drawing glares from its owner.

So the recent news that Shanghai is mulling a canine licensing regulation that will have teeth the current law lacks will probably be good news to my girlfriend and others haunted by fear of dogs.

However, this regulation, predictably stricter on dog ownership, hardly endears the city's legislators to dog lovers.

After three rounds of deliberations, the draft is expected to be approved and signed into law later this month and will likely take effect in May.

Although it significantly lowers annual licensing fees -- from 2,000 yuan (US$304) to 300 yuan - it has unleashed a fierce howl from dog owners.

The barrage of criticism is mainly directed at the one-household-one-dog clause that confines each household in downtown areas and a few suburbs to only one dog.

The latest draft is silent on what action, if any, will be taken against those in these areas who already own more than one dog.

For a law that will affect tens of thousands, and is already on the verge of passage, its amount of vagueness does cause confusion.

The proposed law's ambiguity in this regard has led some pundits to hastily conclude the new rule is "draconian" and "inhumane."

A columnist at a reputable domestic newspaper early this month wrote that the draft regulation seemed to send the message, "keep your dog inside your apartment and never let it out."

He went on to say that Shanghai's "draconian" approach to dogs and "soft" take on smoking in public "set it clearly apart" from New York, where the authorities are serious about banning smoking in public while earnestly campaigning for dogs' welfare.

His article was reprinted by Asia News Network on February 9.

In addition to fawning over New York City for being dog-friendly, his "analysis" doesn't stand up to scrutiny. This is typical of the nonsense in some media, whose slanted and maudlin coverage of the issue distorts the facts.

Of the 760,000 pet dogs in Shanghai, 600,000 are unlicensed. A dramatic rise in their population has been blamed for more than 100,000 dog bites reported every year since 2006, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Monday.

To reassure dog owners, lawmakers contacted by Shanghai Daily over the issue indicated the new regulation will not be retroactive. Under the new rule, those who already own two or more dogs can keep them, licensed or not, without having to worry that their pets, if allowed outdoors and captured, will be culled as illegal ones, said Huang Jue, deputy head of the Legal Work Committee of the Municipal People's Congress.

The purpose of the proposed law is not to force people to give up their dogs for adoption or dump them in the streets, but to encourage them to register unlicensed dogs and get them vaccinated, Huang told Shanghai Daily.

"Suppose a couple each kept a registered dog before marriage, shall we ask them to give one away now? Of course not. Revocation of perfectly legitimate dog permits violates China's administrative law," lawmaker Cui Kai told Shanghai Daily in a telephone interview on Monday.

Swelling horde

Only pet owners who repeatedly ignore requests to register dogs will face punishment, in the form of fines.

Although previous regulations governing dog ownership also allowed only one dog for each family, enforcement is lax, resulting in the swelling of the city's horde of unlicensed, unvaccinated and unneutered dogs.

Confronted with a proliferation of canines, which legislators like Huang call a "historical problem" with potentially grave consequences such as a spike in rabies cases, the city has decided to curb their number.

As for the stray dog issue that concerns animal welfare groups, the government will set up an adoption center to shelter abandoned animals and trace them to their owners using source-tracking technology.

However, unlicensed dogs' information is almost certainly not in the database.

The proposed new rule stipulates that those found abandoning a dog be fined 2,000 yuan, a clear sign the rule is about more than just controlling dog population in a "draconian" manner, as some casually describe it.

Another major rationale for the "one-household-one-dog" clause is based on Shanghai's limited living space.

Unlike the West, where many stand-alone homes have yards to keep dogs, locals mostly live in densely populated neighborhoods, where there is a heightened risk of dog-related disputes.

Contrary to critics' claims, the rule does not seek to curtail dog owners' rights, but to strike a balance between individual freedom and the public good, lawmaker Cui said.

"Raising a pet is fine so long as it doesn't annoy others," he added.

Those who engage in polemics over this dog issue, calling it a purely private matter, demonstrate their disregard for the public welfare.

Residents recently voiced strong displeasure at the unregulated explosion in dog numbers and during a public hearing they vigorously opposed the proposal to reduce annual licensing fees. They called the lower fee too low to discourage irresponsible pet ownership.

This should serve as a wake-up call for some dog owners to realize how unpopular their ways have become, said lawmaker Huang.

He said many owners seldom leash their dogs, almost never muzzle them in public and rarely clean up after them.

No matter how fluffy and cute a Labrador or Husky looks, their size alone is menacing to some people. And in a city with scant space for dog parks and runs - thoughtlessly praised by the aforementioned columnist - off-leash recreation is a luxury that carries consequences.

Poop problem

Isn't it ridiculous to construct dog parks when public parks for the elderly are being razed?

Besides, isn't Shanghai already a massive dog park complete with open-air toilets?

The way I walk on Shanghai's sidewalks, with eyes cast downward, sometimes arouses friends' curiosity. This is not because I'm timid or have difficulty looking people in the eye, but because I have to constantly watch out for dog poop that booby-traps my journey.

A survey of 1,300 families by Shanghai Statistics Bureau last April found pets relieving themselves in public to be the most-cited nuisance.

With a plastic bag, or preferably an earth-friendly biodegradable one, and a graceful stoop, dog owners can clean up the mess their pets make. At present many don't bother to lift a finger.

With pet ownership comes obligations, both to the animal and to the public at large. The new rule is intended to change irresponsible behavior rather than to deter offenders, according to lawmaker Huang, but it will take some time for its benefits to be manifest.

"We need a series of education campaigns to go with the law, to teach the public about the dos and don'ts in pet keeping. Penalties alone won't work," Huang conceded.

Indeed, the uproar starts with dogs but, as expected, should end with their custodians being grilled. Dogs are dogs. Before dog owners learn to be civilized, there's no point talking about canine citizenship.

(Shanghai Daily reporter Jia Feishang contributed to this story.)