Environment

Why You Shouldn't Let Your Dog Pee on Trees

An investigation of how canine urine contributes to urban plant death.
Scarleth White/Flickr

Anyone who's ever owned dogs knows that the lovable creatures are potent forces of destruction. From vomiting squirrel parts on the sofa, to inhaling the girlfriend's laundry-basket panties, to arranging a trashcan's contents over the floor with the gusto of an FBI forensics team, some days it seems as if canines were bred solely to generate hilarious barroom anecdotes.

But might dogs be engaged in a more clandestine, less-funny campaign of attrition, one that is harming the very health of our urban landscape?