VITA e.V. Assistenzhunde
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : s***********r@v*****************e.de
Mission Statement
After having completed her master’s degree with her thesis entitled “Dogs as Healers and Helpers”, Tatjana Kreidler spent several months in England. There she underwent comprehensive training to become an assistance dog trainer through internships with the large charity organizations “Guide Dogs for the Blind“ and “Dogs for the Disabled“. She was completely taken by the possibilities and training methods of the system that she learned in England. During this time, she decided to found a similar organization in Germany along the lines of these well-known and well-regarded British organizations that would provide people that have physical disabilities with an assistance dog. These assistance dogs would then help their partners to become more independent and socially integrated. During her master’s studies, Tatjana Kreidler was deeply involved in the investigation of children’s developmental phases and observed first-hand the positive effects that dogs had on troubled children. She therefore decided – as opposed to the English model – to also include children and young adults with impaired mobility in her program. No one had ever dared to do this until then. In England, one didn’t trust the dogs and children to take responsibility for each other because it was believed that children were not mature enough. Now we know better. VITA has so far trained more than 30 children’s teams – this success has also convinced other organizations to initiate similar programs. However, in Germany, VITA remains the sole organization that entrusts children with an assistance dog and works according to certified international quality standards. Tatjana Kreidler has developed a special method based on her guiding principles which involves sensitizing the person with their specific dog, thereby promoting a relationship based on a very special rapport. Not only with adults, but especially with children, the dogs often work wonders – mentally, physically, socially and cognitively. Our most important goal is to train as many harmonious teams as possible that are characterized by a positive mutual relationship: people, whose lives are enriched by their four-footed partner, that communicate in a friendly and loving way, and dogs that “work” persistently, dependably and joyfully for their partner.
About This Cause
VITA assistance dogs change people's lives They open doors - in a real and a metaphorical sense VITA e.V. Assistance Dogs (VITA) provides children, young people and adults with disabilities with a helper on four paws. The work of the non-profit organization is based on a holistic concept in which people with disabilities and other illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are shown new ways of life. A forward-looking approach that saves lives, gives new life and paves the way for a positive life. VITA assistance dogs are both practical everyday helpers and therapists on four paws for their human partners. They form the bridge and take on a mediating, supporting role for their human partner. VITAs work and its concept (KREIDLER method) is unique as we not only train dogs, but also accompany and support the human-dog teams throughout their joint lives and beyond. Each team is accompanied by a social therapist. Social therapy work is becoming more and more important. The KREIDLER method is based on empathy, motivation and positive reinforcement. Its situational and holistic approach promotes the constant growth of bond and relationship and thus creates calm and patience a trusting togetherness of human and dog. The training center in Hümmerich in the Westerwald becomes a "second home" for many. A place to feel good and recharge. Here people laugh, eat together, train, learn respectfully with and from each other. People exchange ideas, have intensive conversations that usually go into depth. Behavioral patterns and family structures are analyzed, new paths and perspectives open up. More than 20 years ago, Tatjana Kreidler pioneered the training of assistance dogs for children throughout Europe. VITA was the first association on the European mainland to be certified by the umbrella organization Assistance Dogs Europe (ADEu) for training according to internationally recognized quality standards. As VITA does not receive any public funding for its work and health insurance companies do not cover any costs, VITA is financed exclusively by donations, long-term donors, supporters and sponsors. The use of the contributions made is transparent, as the non-profit organization provides detailed accounts.