Katie Loynes of the Blues attempts to mark the ball during the AFLW Preliminary Final match between the Carlton Blues and the Fremantle Dockers at Ikon Park on March 23, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)

A man applies colored powder on his friend's face during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The festival heralds the arrival of spring. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/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.

A woman doing yoga at a fountain, in downtown Stuttgart, Germany, Thursday, June 22, 2017. Weather forecasts predict hot summer weather as well as thunderstorms for some parts of Germany. (Photo by Marijan Murat/DPA via AP Photo)

A woman rides a donkey during a donkey race in Roum village, Jizeen countryside, southern Lebanon, August 9, 2015. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

A mannequin with boots is stuffed upside down in the snow in front of a home in Nisswa, Minnesota, on March 18, 2013. (Photo by Steve Kohls/The Brainerd Daily Dispatch)

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