Tourists in the Serengeti, Tanzania in the second decade of February 2024, get more than they bargained for as a cheetah jumps on the bonnet of their jeep to make their acquaintance. (Photo by Ann Aveyard/Animal News Agency)

An indigenous woman kicks the ball during a Mayan ball game match in Tecpan, Guatemala on March 23, 2024. Dressed in shorts, girdle and uncovered torso, members of eleven teams from the Guatemalan indigenous departments of Chimaltenango, Quiche, Solola and Quetzaltenango, as well as one from El Salvador, commemorated the March equinox with a tournament of the ancestral Mayan ball game on Saturday. (Photo by Photo by Johan Ordonez/AFP Photo)

Jockeys and their horses compete in the Cross Country Chase, the fourth race on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, in Cheltenham, western England on March 12, 2025. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

Austyn Scruggs, Alex Sutton and Josh Taylor, all sailors from NAS Jacksonville make their way down the 18th hole fairway in their St. Patrick's Day dragon costumes during the fourth and final round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. on March 17, 2024. (Phoot by Bob Self/Florida Times-Union via USA TODAY Network)

Polling station officials dressed as traditional Balinese performers vote in Badung regency on the Indonesian island of Bali December 9, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Around 100 million Indonesians were expected to go to the polls on Wednesday in many parts of the country to elect heads of local government. (Photo by Wira Suryantala/Reuters/Antara Foto)

Alessandra Perilli, of San Marino, competes during the trap women's qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, August 7, 2016. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

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.

A man takes a picture of sea spray as storms hit Cape Town, South Africa, June 7, 2017. (Photo by Mike Hutchings/Reuters)