A ceramic dog sleeps next to the gravesite of “Moses” at the Aspin Hill Memorial Park in Aspen Hill, Maryland August 25, 2015. Established in 1921, Aspin Hill contains the graves of more than 50,000 animals, from movies stars to WWI heroes to the dogs of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. National Dog Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26. (Photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters)

A chevrotain or mouse deer feeds in its enclosure at Zurich Zoo, Zurich, Switzerland, October 17, 2012. (Photo by Patrick B. Kraemer/AP)

Friends (L-R) Katherine Olson, Olivia Carroll and Maron Ross take a memory during the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 20, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

Kylie Jenner is seen on November 02, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

The British rock and roll group the Beatles talk to Ed Sullivan at CBS Studio 50 before their live television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in New York, February 10, 1964. From left to right are, Sullivan, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, holding a cigarette, and Paul McCartney. (Photo by AP Photo)

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.

Players perform during a game at the first Bubble Soccer tournament in Hitzkirch, near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 27, 2015. Bubble Soccer, also known as Zorb Soccer, is becoming increasingly popular around the world. The game is a recreation of playing soccer whilst encased in an inflated zorb which covers the players upper-body and head. (Photo by Urs Flueeler/EPA)

“Fly cap for a vine snake”. A fly lands on the head of a vine snake in the Choco of Colombia. (Photo and caption by Robin Moore/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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