ohmidog!

Bombarded by 18,000 emails and faced with a crowd of more than 100 dog lovers, the Cumberland County Animal Control Board last night dropped a proposal to ban adoptions of pit bulls, Rottweilers, chow chows and other breeds.

About 10 breeds were included in the proposal — as were any mixes of them — all of which would have been euthanized within three days of arriving at the North Carolina county’s shelter.

Instead, the Fayeteville Observer reports, the animal control board directed Dr. John Lauby, the animal control director, to look into ways the county can better screen people who adopt animals to ensure they’ll be responsible owners.

The proposed breed ban was recommended about two months after Cumberland County hired a contractor to round up stray and feral dogs in and around Fayetteville — most of which ended up getting euthanized.

That step, and the breed ban, were prompted by complaints from the public about free-running dogs that posed nuisances and dangers.

In October, the Animal Control board recommended that the county deem “unadoptable” any and all bully breeds, as well as Rottweilers chow chows,  Great Danes and German shepherds, according to some reports.

Those breeds, and mixes of them — labeled “attack dogs” by one county official – would have been euthanized within 72 hours, unless other shelters or rescues took them.

By Monday night, Lauby said he had received more than 18,000 emails about the proposal, many from activists who — based on online petitions and erroneous news reports — believed the county was to start euthanizing all such breeds Monday.

“We’re not trying to kill anything,” Lauby said. “We’re trying to adopt animals.”

Among those who addressed the board were pit bull owners, rescuers, trainers and groomers, many of whom voiced their opposition to breed specific policies and laws.

“Some of the best dogs I groom are dogs that are on the list,” said Karin Miller, a groomer in Hope Mills. “We can’t categorize the dogs any more than we can categorize people.”

Troy Duke, who runs a Cumberland County pit bull rescue, said the dogs are “suffering from the same stereotypes that racists label other people with.”

Lauby told the board that dog adoptions have increased from 700 per year to about 2,000, but the county still euthanizes some 11,000 dogs annually.

About 1,000 pit bulls arrive at the county shelter a year, most of which are euthanized.

Nick Cannon thought it would be a hoot to make his radio co-host think he had sent her dog aloft by tying the tiny pooch to a bunch of helium balloons.

So, using a stuffed animal as a substitute, he pretended to launch Sarah Lee Owensby’s dog, Charlie Roo, into the air

In a video posted on the 92.3NOW website, Cannon explains, “I won a bet with Sarah Lee, and I’m about to play the meanest joke on her ever. This whole time I’ve been acting like I don’t like dogs, but I really love dogs. I’m a dog person… But I’m pretending that I want to float Charlie Roo with balloons!”

“I’m not really gonna float a dog,” he stressed. “I’m gonna float a stuffed animal that looks just like Charlie Roo.”

Despite all the disclaimers, Cannon received scoldings and threats via Twitter, Facebook and on his voice mail — some from people who didn’t understand it was pretend, some from people who did and didn’t like it, anyway.

Among those finding little humor in the prank was PETA President Ingrid Newkirk: “If bad taste were a crime, we’d be going to jail with Nick, but joking about killing a dog, a kid, an old person — anyone — isn’t cool when there’s always the danger that some numbskull will do it for real.”

“I think I might be getting fired,” Cannon tweeted in reaction to the uproar. ” … boss just told me PETA is on the phone … Radio bit gone seriously wrong … People are acting like I’m Mike Vick. I apologize. Now get over it …”