Photographer Page

Hannele Lahti

An elderly Boston terrier looks at the camera. Due to centuries of domestication, dogs are finely tuned to human emotions.

A chocolate lab sits attentively on a dock in central Maine. Dogs are very perceptive of human words and the tone in which they're spoken.

Adoptable hound puppies play in the backyard of their foster family in Washington, D.C.

Annie the Boston terrier prefers her toys to be fat and cushy, according to Lahti. After sucking on the yellow fish, Annie would stuff it in her mouth as she snored away the afternoon. Destruction time: Three months.

When Oscar the Newfoundland met the tiny elephant, he chewed part of its ear before deciding the best course of action was to bury it in the backyard. Destruction time: Two weeks.

Cole, a boxer/Labrador mix, didn't waste any time shredding this shark in search of the coveted squeaker. Within four minutes he had his prize.

Annie and Murray, both Boston terriers, took down the purple dragon in a team effort. Murray ripped and Annie slobbered, says Lahti. Destruction time: One month.

Murray must have found the eyes on the platypus toy alarming, because that's the first part he destroyed. Afterward, he tore out its stuffing and abandoned it outside. Destruction time: Two weeks.

In 30 seconds of frantic action, Tico the young hound mix dismantled and destuffed this pink owl toy—then returned to his bed.

Annie, a Boston terrier rescue taken from her mother too young, finds comfort in toys by sucking and sleeping on them. She spent about a month sleeping with this pink bunny in her mouth before ripping its face off and leaving it outside.