A street performer walks past an image of a Russian serviceman reading “The Motherland we defend” at a street exhibition of military photos in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. A campaign to replenish Russian troops in Ukraine with more soldiers appears to be underway again, with makeshift recruitment centers popping up in cities and towns, and state institutions posting ads promising cash bonuses and benefits to entice men to sign contracts enabling them to be sent into the battlefield. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

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.

Chamrock, an Irish wolfhound, sports a green coat as he waits for the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade on March 17, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Tens of thousands took advantage of record high temperatures and sunny weather to attend the city's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

A worker refreshes himself with a fan after loading a container with rice bags at an export plant in the central Chainat province in Thailand, December 16, 2015. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A cow is silhouetted grazing next the smoke of a chimney of an incineration plant in Lausanne at sunrise on November 19, 2021. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

A boy searches for coins thrown by Hindu devotees in river Yamuna where water levels have reduced drastically following hot weather in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 2, 2022. The Indian capital, like many other parts of South Asia, is in the midst of a record-shattering heatwave. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)

In this aerial image, Baker Lake is surrounded by Fall colors on October 8, 2022 near East Bolton, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Sébastien St-Jean/AFP Photo)

National Guardsmen are put through riot training in Boston's Commonwealth Armory on Friday, October 18, 1974. Massachusetts Gov. Francis W. Sargent called up the guard to quell school violence, but the city has been relatively calm and the guard has remained in the armories. (Photo by JWG/AP Photo)