Two long-time Puppy Raisers from Custom Canine Service Dog Academy, Jeff and Lisa Arndt, will be pedaling their bicycles 2,909 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.  Pedal 4 Paws - Coast 2 Coast tour begins in San Diego, California (3/7) and ends in St. Augustine, Florida. Team C2C-P4P's goal is to raise money for the organization, raise awareness for the autism services that canines provide, and share the rewards of being a puppy raiser to encourage other to volunteer. 

The backbone of our organization is the dedicated group of volunteers who raise our puppies for the first year.  The time that the puppy raisers spend socializing and training our puppies is invaluable and can never be sufficiently compensated.  There is a shortage of puppy raisers which impacts our ability to meet demand. The shortage is due, in part, to the expenses ($1000) to foster a puppy for one year: food, medication, neuter/spay, grooming, transportation, toys.  By being able to reimburse volunteers for dog food and veterinarian expenses, we will be able to retain and acquire an adequate number of raisers to meet the needs of our clients next year.

Through the dedication of our volunteers and generous donors, Custom Canines provides canines free of charge to families in need.  Failure to meet our revenue goal may cause us to begin charging our clients.  Although charging clients is a common practice for service dogs, our mission is to 'Pay It Forward', by relying on volunteers and have past recipients provide assistance as they are able.  Therefore, anyone who can benefit is provided with a canine partner to share their life, rather than limiting assistance to only those clients who are financially able.