Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret climbs during a training session in Verd, some 20 km southwest of Ljubljana, on March 27, 2024. The eight-time world champion is looking to win another gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games this summer, just like she did in Tokyo 2020 when the sport debuted at the Olympics. (Photo by Jure Makovec/AFP Photo)

A reveler playfully sticks out her tongue during a street pre-carnival party by the “Cordao do Boitata” Block, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, February 12, 2023. Revelers are taking to the streets for the open-air block parties, leading up to Carnival's official Feb. 17th opening. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Paige Vanzant, an ex-UFC star, and Mikael-Michelle Brown battle it out to be slap champion at the Power Slap in Las Vegas on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Louis Grasse/PX Imagens via ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The world's biggest wild animal farmer, Carr Hartley of Rumuruti in Kenya, sells animals to zoos, circuses and film companies. (Photo by Maxim Ruston/BIPs/Getty Images). November 1956

Alex Plunkett, left, and Sean Hart, both of Arlington, Va., join hundreds participating in the annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 5. Massive pillow fights broke out on the Mall in Washington and in cities around the world. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

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.

Couples take part in a Valentine's Day attempt to break the record for the world's largest simultaneous gay kiss on February 14, 2004 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

A stranded cat swims through flood water searching for dry land June 16, 2008 in Oakville, Iowa. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)