People: His 2007 is already going to the dogs

John O’Hurley is performing a delicate dance these days. Who comes first: newborn baby or beloved beasts?

The “Dancing With the Stars” finalist and his wife, Lisa Mesloh, 34, have been introducing son William Dylan, born Dec. 6, to their canine companions: Scoshi, a white Maltese, and Betty, a dachshund/black Lab mix.

“My wife and my child are certainly my first priority right now,” O’Hurley says while sitting next to the Christmas tree in the living room of his home.

“But the dogs are a part of my family, too. I just have to open my arms bigger and hold them all.”

O’Hurley, 52, is well known for his devotion to dogs; he’s a regular host of “The National Dog Show” and has a book in stores titled “It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump, And Other Life Lessons I Learned From Dogs” (Hudson Street Press; $19.95).

Scoshi has taken a special interest in the child, whom his mother named after England’s Prince William.

When they arrived from the hospital, O’Hurley says, “Scoshi looked at this little thing that was up there in Lisa’s arms and planted himself (in the nursery beside William’s feeding chair). And he hasn’t moved.”

Betty has been more laid-back, O’Hurley says, but she has noticed a shift in attention toward “the little pink thing that has come into the house.”

At age 8, Betty is perhaps less perceptive than the veteran Scoshi, who is approaching 16 and quite frail. He can no longer hear, and his vision is impaired. O’Hurley can barely speak of his inevitable death.

Though he has had dogs throughout his life, O’Hurley’s father always mysteriously removed the dogs from the family home before they reached the end of their lives.

“I’ve never had to deal directly with the loss of a dog,” he says. “They all disappeared.”

He will not duplicate his father’s methods. Instead, O’Hurley will care for Scoshi until he takes his dying breath.

“It’s going to be very difficult,” he says.

But he is planning a fitting tribute. He has signed to write a 2007 follow-up book, to be called “Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It,” and it will feature letters from Scoshi to William.

“It’s going to be lessons on manhood from a little dog to a boy who barely knew him,” O’Hurley says.

“It’s going to be a very tough book to write. I know I’m going to be losing Scoshi soon, and it’s a great way to have some closure with that and at the same time welcome another life: my son.”

The birthday bunch

Singer Odetta is 76. Actor Anthony Hopkins is 69. Actor Tim Considine (“My Three Sons”) is 66. Actress Sarah Miles is 65. Guitarist Andy Summers (The Police) is 64. Actor Ben Kingsley is 63. Actor Tim Matheson is 59. Singer Burton Cummings (The Guess Who) is 59. Singer Donna Summer is 58. Actress Bebe Neuwirth (“Cheers”) is 48. Singer Paul Westerberg is 47. Actor Val Kilmer is 47. Singer-actor Joe McIntyre (New Kids on the Block) is 34.