KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Americans have described themselves as 'outraged' and 'devastated' after pictures emerged of U.S. forces leaving 46 working dogs, along with 30 million Afghans, behind in Afghanistan following Monday's pull-out.

A series of social media posts taken in late August allegedly showed photos of the dogs abandoned at the Kabul airport, along with millions of Afghan civilians.

While the Pentagon has claimed the animals were rescue dogs belonging to the group Kabul Small Animal Rescue, the incident is just the latest blow in the 20-year conflict which has left untold numbers of dogs, other cute animals, and Afghans dead.

Kabul Rescue founder Charlotte Maxwell-Jones described the feeling of helplessness over the past few weeks, watching hundreds of Afghans fleeing to the airport in terror with no thought about who would care for the pets they abandoned.