“The Last Pollen Spore Preparing to Leave a Ladybug Trying to Hold On, Because It Didn't Want to Be Alone”. Photo by Hiep Nguyen Hoang (Hanoi, Vietnam). Photographed in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 2012.

Christian pilgrims from Brazil embrace after they are baptized in the water of the Jordan River during a ceremony at the Yardenit baptismal site near the northern Israeli city of Tiberias October 15, 2014. (Photo by Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

A combination picture shows Aleppo's Umayyad mosque, Syria, before it was damaged on March 12, 2009 (top) and after it was damaged (bottom) December 13, 2016. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

Girls Aloud: Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh, Sarah Harding and Cheryl Cole at Kimberley Walsh's birthday party hosted by Damian Darkko at Mint Nightclub in London, Britain on November 25, 2006. The Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has died at the age of 39, her mother has said in a post on Instagram. Issue date: Sunday September 5, 2021. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

Konishiki “The Dumptruck” of Hawaii stares down at his opponent during the first Sumo Bashai held outside Japan, at the Albert Hall in London, England. (Photo by Chris Cole /Getty Images). 1991

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark serves in her match against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during day four of the Toray Pan Pacific Open at Ariake Colosseum on September 28, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

A massive sand storm cloud is close to enveloping a military camp as it rolls over Al Asad, Iraq, April 27, 2005. (Photo by Cpl. Alicia M. Garcia, U.S. Marine Corps/Reuters/U.S. Department of Defense)