Attendee Emily poses for a picture at 2017 Comic-Con International on July 20, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

A man transports a car on a horse cart to a repair shop along a street in Amritsar on May 6, 2021. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A Sumatran Owl is seen in Palembang City, Indonesia on March 5, 2020. (Photo by Sigit Prasetya/Opn Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A migrant carries his belongings as he arrives at the Beijing railway station to catch a train in Beijing, Friday, February 13, 2015. (Photo by Andy Wong/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 robot, developed by start-up firm Asimov Robotics, holds a tray with face masks and sanitizer after the two robots were launched to spread awareness about the coronavirus, in Kochi, India, March 17, 2020. (Photo by Sivaram V/Reuters)

A woman sells fried chicken at the Kyaik-Khauk pagoda festival in the Tanlyin township outside Yangon February 4, 2015. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

A Nepalese man sits outside a Hindu temple as a goat rests on a parked scooter in Khokana, Lalitpur District, Nepal, Monday, September 26, 2016. Writing on the wall offers prayers to Hindu god Shiva. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)