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 woman photographs a Norwegian spruce Christmas tree from Oslo after it was lit at Trafalgar Square in central London, December 4, 2014. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A Rajasthani folk dance artist performs while standing on two glasses during the “Dhora Ri Mahak” festival in Bhopal, India, 07 January 2015. The event is being organised by the “Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya” anthropology museum. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA)

A goat named “White On The Right” bleats as it is paraded with other goats prior to a race during the annual Easter goat racing event at the Mount Pleasant recreation ground in Tobago April 6, 2015. (Photo by Andrea De Silva/Reuters)

A Selkirk Rex cat is one of more than 400 breeds of cats being presented at the World Cat Federation two-day show in Dortmund, Germany, on April 21, 2013. (Photo by Frank Augstein/Associated Press)

A woman tries to catch snowflakes with her tongue during a snowfall on Chandragiri Hills in Kathmandu, Nepal on January 23, 2019. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A reveller plays with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain on August 29, 2018. As every year on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people visit the small village of Bunol to attend the Tomatina, a battle in which tons of ripe tomatoes are used as weapons. This year, a total of 145 tons of ripe tomatoes will be thrown between more than 22,000 participants. (Photo by Heino Kalis/Reuters)

Thomas jumps into the water from a spring board at a public swimming pool in Mengen, Germany, 28 August 2016. (Photo by Thomas Warnack/EPA)