“Sniffing a fire hydrant or a tree along a route popular with other dogs… becomes a means of keeping abreast of current events. That tree serves as a large canine tabloid containing the latest news items in the dog world. It may not contain installments of classic canine literature, but it certainly has a gossip column and the personals section of the classified ads.”
— Stanley Coren, How Dogs Think, 2004
“You know how some dogs, mine included, sniff each bush and hydrant when taking a walk? We refer to it as ‘reading their pee-mail.'”
— Jennifer Arnold, Through a Dog’s Eyes, 2010
The Story of Information 
Here in rural New Hampshire we’re short on fire hydrants, so doggies have to rely on bushes and trees for their news and pee mail. Seems to work for my lab.
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