Activists from the animal rights group PETA wearing bikinis and crocodile masks assist each other outside a store of the French fashion label Hermes in Sydney on March 4, 2021, as they protest against their use of crocodile skins and the recent purchases by Hermes and LVMH of crocodile farms in Australia's Northern Territory. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

A woman checks on two of her puppies after her neighborhood was evacuated because of severe flooding in Channelview, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Days of rain caused rivers to swell, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced. (Photo by Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/AP Photo)

A handler displays newly born American green Iguanas at the Snake park in Chennai on May 27, 2024. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)

A dog stands inside a voting booth as people vote during European Parliament and municipal elections, in Budapest, Hungary, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by Marton Monus/Reuters)

Fire runners in devil costumes gather to enlighten their stick mounted firecrackers during the “Correfocs” at the “Fiesta Major” of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain on April 15, 2023. (Photo by Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

A woman sits in lotus prayer pose during the “Yoga at the Sunrise” event on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, June 22, 2024. The activity celebrates International Yoga Day proclaimed by the United Nations as June 21. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Kirsty Paterson appears as herself in Willy’s Candy Spectacular at the Pleasance Dome on August 15, 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Police eventually shut down the 2023 Willy's Chocolate Experience event in Glasgow last year after disappointed attendees spent £35 on tickets only to be met with a sparsely decorated warehouse and a handful of actors. The event garnered worldwide attention and has now been made into a show “Willy's Candy Spectacular” for the Edinburgh Fringe, featuring Kirsty Paterson the original “Sad Oompa Loompa”. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

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.