Nyah and Thea watch as the top end storms roll in across Nightcliff beach and Jetty in Darwin, Australia on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. (Photo by Neve Brissenden/AAP Image)

Close up of a couple, with the woman holding the man's knee, underneath a table. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

A model walks the runway at the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid at Ifema on September 12, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images)

imena Dominguez of Venezuela competes with the ball in the rhythmic gymnastics on day one of Sky Grace Cup Internationa Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament at Beijing Shougang Ice Hockey Stadium on November 12, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Playboy Bunnies pose for a selfie at the premiere of “The Transporter Refueled” at Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, California August 25, 2015. The movie opens in the U.S. on September 4. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/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.

The Disney Fantasy cruise ship is docked for its christening on March 1, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Lilly Caron, 8, of Bridgeton, Maine, Jason Homchick, of San Diego, and Lilly's father Jason Caron, (obscured), ride the Sky Swing at Seacoast Adventure, Thursday, July 14, 2016, in Wyndham, Maine. The 100-foot-tall swing gives riders the combined thrills of sky diving and hang gliding. (Photo by Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)