Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., who returned to the Mexican side of the border to avoid deportation, play soccer in a makeshift migrant camp in Braulio Fernandez Ecological Park in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, September 22, 2021. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Reuters)

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.

Edibles are displayed at Shango Cannabis shop on first day of legal recreational marijuana sales beginning at midnight in Portland, Oregon October 1, 2015. The sale of marijuana for recreational use began in Oregon on October 1, 2015 as it joined Washington state and Colorado in allowing the sale of a drug that remains illegal under U.S. federal law. (Photo by Steve Dipaola/Reuters)

A Colombian anti-narcotics policeman stands guard after burning a cocaine lab, which police said belongs to criminal gangs, in a rural area of Calamar in Guaviare state, Colombia, August 2, 2016. Colombian law enforcement has destroyed 104 cocaine laboratories capable of producing some 100 tonnes of the drug annually, the head of the anti-narcotics police said on Tuesday. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

A rare turquoise mosaic mask is displayed at The Britrish Museum on April 7, 2009 in London, England. The Aztec mask, originally from Mexico will be one of the key exhibits to go on show at the Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler exhibition which opens to the public on 24 September 2009. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a bird in the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama (unlike the other quetzals of the genus Pharomachrus, which are found in South America and eastern Panama). It is well known for its colorful plumage.