LIVE OAK, Fla. (WCTV) - A Live Oak man is turning his struggle into service, one four-legged friend at a time, through his nonprofit Pop Smoke K9’s for Veterans. He’s helping warriors fight a different kind of battle.

The fight to stay alive.

Elisha Perkins, a combat veteran, founded the nonprofit, which is dedicated to training and donating service dogs to veterans battling PTSD, military sexual trauma, or traumatic brain injuries.

Perkins knows the struggle firsthand.

“If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t be standing right here right now. I would’ve ended my life for sure,” Perkins said.

During his deployment in Afghanistan, Perkins was severely injured when his vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

That life-changing moment led him to create Pop Smoke K9s, a name inspired

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