Mammal Photographer of the Year and Mammal Society Member’s prize winner: Foxhall Zafira by Roger Cox. (Photo by Roger Cox/Mammal Photographer of the Year 2020)

Spectators cheer after Medina Spirit, ridden by John Velazquez wins 147th Kentucky Derby at. Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. May 1, 2021. (Photo by Bryan Woolston/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.

An East German civilian (L) shows an East German customs officer the contents of his Trabant (auto) at checkpoint Potsdamer Platz in East Berlin in this November 24, 1989 file picture, as East Germany enforcing stringent customs controls to avoid smuggling. (Photo by Reuters)

Disguised participants strike poses on a car during the ancient carnival of Ituren, in the northern Spanish Navarra province on January 30, 2017. The yearly three day festivities, revolving mainly around agriculture and principally sheep hearding, run on the last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of January where Navarra Valley locals from two villages dress up and participate in a variety of activites as they perform a pilgrimage through each village. (Photo by Ander Gillenea/AFP Photo)

A Filipino climate activist wearing a face shield with the words “Climate Justice Now” poses showing her hand as part of global climate change protests, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on September 25, 2020. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Tate McRae performs with dancers during the first day of the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. September 19, 2025. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Singer Beyonce arrives at TIDAL X: 1020 Amplified by HTC at the Barclays Center on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Photo)