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.

(L-R) American actor Chase Stokes, American singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini and American comedian Tiffany Haddish seen backstage during the 2023 Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for MTV)

Undated handout photo issued by Andrew H Williams/WPR of resident Rosemary Lester at Sherwood Grange care home in Kingston Vale, south west London, focusses her attention during a nude life drawing class. Issue date: Monday July 25, 2022. (Photo by Andrew H Williams/Care UK/PA Wire)

“A skydiver has made history by smashing the world record for the highest skydive after leaping from 128,097ft (39,044m). Daredevil Felix Baumgartner ascended to the edge of space in a pressurised capsule suspended beneath a giant helium balloon. He then jumped out, freefalling for four minutes and 19 seconds before opening his parachute”.

Photo: Baumgartner celebrates after successfully completing the jump. (Photo by Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos)

A man looks at a photograph by French photographer Robert Doisneau entitled “The Fate Line: Pablo Picasso at Vallauris, 1952” during the presentation of the photo-exhibition “Picasso, photographer's gaze”, on June 5, 2019 at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. (Photo by Lluis Gene/AFP Photo)

American model Emily Ratajkowski was seen monday, October 3, 2023, waking around Manhattan in a black sheer dress and high heels. (Photo by Said Elatab/The Mega Agency)

View of a Spitfire from the cockpit of an He111,somewhere over Southern England 1941 – 2014. (Photo by Adam Surrey)

A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.