Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

Who We Share Your Data With

We may share your personal data with the following categories of third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and providing our services:

  • Google: We use Google services for various purposes, including:
    • Google Forms: When you submit information through our forms (e.g., animal hand-in forms), this data is collected and stored by Google.
    • Google Workspace (including Gmail): We use Google Workspace for email communication, including processing form submissions and responding to inquiries. Any personal data you provide in emails to us will be processed by Google.
    • Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to analyze website traffic and user behavior. This involves the collection of anonymized data (IP addresses are masked) to help us understand how visitors use our site.
  • Wordfence: We use Wordfence for website security, including firewall protection, malware scanning, and intrusion detection. Wordfence may process IP addresses and other technical data to protect our website from threats.
  • Cloudflare: We use Cloudflare for several purposes, including:
    • Analytics: Cloudflare provides website traffic analytics, similar to Google Analytics.
    • Security and Site Protection: Cloudflare provides security services, such as DDoS protection and a web application firewall. They may process IP addresses and other technical data to protect our website.
    • Caching: Cloudflare’s caching service stores copies of our website’s content to improve performance. This may involve storing data temporarily on their servers.
  • Mailchimp: If you subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list, your email address and any other information you provide will be stored and processed by Mailchimp.
  • SendGrid: We use SendGrid for transactional emails, such as password resets and automated notifications. If you request a password reset or other automated email, SendGrid will process your email address.

Important Information About Third-Party Data Processing:

We do not sell your personal data to any third parties.

We have Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) in place with all of our third-party service providers to ensure that your data is processed in compliance with GDPR.

We only share your data with these third parties to the extent necessary for them to provide their services to us.

How Long We Retain Your Data

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including animal intake, care, rehoming, and legal obligations. We may also retain data for longer periods if required by law or to protect our legitimate interests (e.g., in the event of legal disputes). Once your data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it. For specific retention periods related to different types of data, please contact us.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

You have several rights regarding your personal data, including the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, and data portability. To exercise these rights, please contact us.