Players battle for the ball during their match at the swamp soccer China tournament in Beijing, June 26, 2014. The 32 teams from across the country participated in the soccer event to celebrate the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Chinese women holding toy guns dance for a revolutionary song during their daily exercise at a square outside a shopping mall in Beijing, June 29, 2014. About 30 local residents formed this “Nanguan” art group that enjoys performing to revolutionary songs and dance performances as part of their daily fitness activities at night. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A shorn alpaca walks in a grass field at Alpaca-Land farm in Unken in the Austrian province of Salzburg, Sunday July, 6, 2014. The annual shearing makes the animals more comfortable for the summer months. (Photo by Kerstin Joensson/AP Photo)

In this handout artists impression provided by the Russia 2018 Organising Commitee, the Rostov on Don Stadium is shown as proposed and presented as part of the Russia 2018 World Cup bid, on September 29, 2011 in Russia. (Illustration by Russia 2018 via Getty Images)

Chicago-based illustrator Alex Solis created fat versions of famous pop culture characters in this funny illustration series entitled “Famous Chunkies”.

Daredevil Christopher Gillette writhes around with a huge alligator he has saved from death. He works at a Florida sanctuary that rescues the wild beasts if they stroll into neighbourhoods where residents can legally kill them. To raise cash for the centre at Homestead, staff put on shows to feed and wrestle the alligators. Photographer John Chapa, 41, and girlfriend Adriana Canargo, 30, took these shots. Photo: Assistant photographer Adriana Canargo dives with a wild alligator. (Photo by John Chapa/Barcroft Media)

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.