Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

• Contact forms — your name, email address, and the content of your message when you reach out to us.
• Donation and payment information — your name, email address, and payment details when you make a donation. Payment processing is handled by PayPal and Stripe; we do not store your full payment card details on our servers.
• Adoption inquiries — information you provide when expressing interest in adopting an animal, including contact details and any background information you choose to share.
• Newsletter sign-ups — your email address if you subscribe to our mailing list.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data — standard web server logs including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and referring URLs. This data is used solely for site maintenance and security.
• Cookies — we use minimal session cookies necessary for the site to function. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information only for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries and support requests
• To process donations and issue tax receipts
• To send newsletters and updates you have opted into
• To process and follow up on adoption applications
• To maintain and improve our website
• To comply with legal obligations

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

3. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:

• PayPal — for donation and payment processing. PayPal Privacy Policy
• Stripe — for donation and payment processing. Stripe Privacy Policy
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — for website hosting, email delivery via SES, and data storage. AWS Privacy Policy
• Meta (Facebook) — we maintain a Facebook page. If you interact with our Facebook presence, Meta's privacy policy applies. Meta Privacy Policy
• YouTube — we may embed YouTube videos on our site. YouTube may collect data per Google's privacy policy. Google Privacy Policy

4. Data Retention

We retain contact messages and adoption inquiry records for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which they were collected, or as required by law. Donation records are retained for a minimum of seven years in accordance with nonprofit accounting requirements. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see Section 6).

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information, including encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), access controls, and secure cloud infrastructure. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt out of our mailing list at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact form.

7. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of our website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please reach out through our contact form.