A contestant holds three Pomeranians during the FCI-CACIB Zakarpattia 2021 International Dog Show at the Avanhard Stadium, Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia Region, western Ukraine on September 19, 2021. (Photo by Ukrinform/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Ayesha Farooq, 26, Pakistan's only female war-ready fighter pilot watches an airforce jet about to take off at Mushaf base in Sargodha, north Pakistan June 7, 2013. Farooq, from Punjab province's historic city of Bahawalpur, is one of 19 women who have become pilots in the Pakistan Air Force over the last decade – there are five other female fighter pilots, but they have yet to take the final tests to qualify for combat. A growing number of women have joined Pakistan's defence forces in recent years as attitudes towards women change. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

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.

Old Heidelberg, Dog with Pipe, 1905. (Photo by Detroit Publishing Company)

Fraser Davidson gobbles a plane at The Hangar at Manchester Airport on June 26, 2024. An airport pub serves drinks just 15 metres from the runway–- and drinkers can watch planes coming into land over a pint. The Hangar, Manchester, is 50 feet away from the airport, and people don't need to be checked in to drink there. It boasts a “unique perspective” for customers, who can enjoy a pint right next to planes taking off and landing. (Photo by South West News Service)

Picture dated March 28th 2022 shows a Typhoon training over Lincolnshire as it prepares for this years airshows. The Typhoon jet took part in a number of air shows across the UK last year. Out of season it is used for operational sorties. (Photo by Claire Hartley/Bav Media)

People pose for photos beneath the Hollywood sign on September 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Hollywood is awaiting the final vote on a tentative contract agreement between over 11,000 Writers Guild of America members and Hollywood studios in the nearly 150-day writers strike. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Miss Universe Puerto Rico, Karla Guilfu, parades in a swimsuit during the Miss Universe 2023 preliminary gala in San Salvador, El Salvador, 15 November 2023. (Photo by Rodrigo Sura/EPA/EFE)