The Taipei first girls high school marching band perform at the 134th rose parade in Pasadena, California on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/AP Photo)

Allison Callender and Kent Willis, members of Mekanix Gym, a total wellness center, take a cold plunge in ice after a workout at the gym's Shadow Sanctuary facility during hot weather in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 19, 2023. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)

A reveller surfs on top of the crowd during the Wacken Open Air 2022 heavy metal festival in Wacken, Germany on August 4, 2022. (Photo by Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters)

Paris 2024 Paralympic Games taekwondo bronze medallist Palesha Goverdhan greets the crowd upon her arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on September 4, 2024. Nepal celebrated on September 4 winning its first-ever Olympic medal, with cheering crowds giving Paralympic taekwondo star Palesha Goverdhan a hero's welcome as she returned home. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Models are seen backstage prior to the Walter Van Beirendonck Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images)

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.

Arrow sports his new elastic booties at a PetSmart in Tempe, Ariz. on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Phoenix radio station KSLX handed out the protective coverings to protect dogs' paws from the hot pavement, as temperatures in Phoenix are forecasted to hit 120 degrees (48°C). (Photo by Angie Wang/AP Photo)