Privacy policy

1. Who we are

Let's Rescue Dogs ("we," "us," or "the rescue") is a California nonprofit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, EIN 93-1772160. We operate this website at www.letsrescuedogs.net (the "Site"). For any privacy question or request, email info@letsrescuedogs.net or call +1 (213) 776-5886.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact form. Your name, email address, phone number (optional), the topic you choose, and your message.
• Volunteer sign-up. Your name, email address, phone number (optional), city, the kinds of volunteering you're interested in, and anything you add in the message field.
• Newsletter sign-up. Your email address and, if you provide it, your first name.
• Adoption application. Our adoption questionnaire asks for the details a responsible rescue needs to place a dog safely: your contact information, date of birth, address, household, housing situation, other pets, experience with dogs, veterinarian, and how you plan to care for the dog. It is stored in our content system for review by our adoption coordinators. While you fill it in, your answers are kept in your own browser so you can come back to it; nothing is sent to us until you submit.
• Foster application. This form is hosted by Jotform and embedded on the Site. Jotform's processing of that data is governed by Jotform's own privacy policy as well as this one.
• Donations. Payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number. Stripe shares with us your name, email address, billing postal code, the amount, and whether the gift is monthly, so that we can issue receipts, maintain the records the IRS requires, and manage recurring gifts.
• Text messages to our street-dog line. If you text us about a dog, we receive your phone number, your message and any photos you send. Standard messaging rates from your carrier apply.

Information collected automatically

• Site analytics. We use Vercel Web Analytics, which counts page views and referrers without cookies and without identifying individual visitors. It records an anonymized hash that is discarded daily, along with the page visited, the referring site, country, device type and browser.
• Server logs. Our hosting provider, Vercel, keeps short-lived request logs (such as IP address, URL and timestamp) for security and debugging.
• Form protection. Our forms include a hidden field that helps us filter automated spam, and we rate-limit submissions by network address. We don't use CAPTCHA puzzles.

For details on cookies and similar technologies, see our Cookie policy.

3. How we use information

• To respond to your messages and applications, and to arrange adoptions, fosters and volunteer work.
• To process donations, send receipts, and manage monthly gifts, including refunds and disputes.
• To send rescue updates by email if you signed up for them. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.
• To keep the records that nonprofit and tax law require us to keep.
• To keep the Site secure and understand which pages are useful.

We don't use your information for automated decision-making, and we don't build advertising profiles.

4. Who we share information with

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not share mobile phone numbers or SMS consent with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. We share information only with:

• Service providers who process it on our behalf and only as needed to provide their service to us: Stripe (payments), Jotform (the foster application form), Sanity (content and form storage), Vercel (hosting and analytics), Resend (email notifications to the rescue), and our email provider.
• Volunteers of the rescue who need the information to do their work, such as adoption and foster coordinators reviewing an application.
• References you list on an application, whom we may contact.
• Authorities when the law requires it, or to protect the safety of a person or an animal.

5. How long we keep information

• Contact messages and volunteer sign-ups: until they've been handled and for up to two years afterward, so we can follow up.
• Adoption and foster applications and contracts: for as long as the dog is in our care and for a reasonable period afterward, so we can honor our commitment to take a dog back if needed.
• Donation records: at least seven years, as required for nonprofit accounting and tax purposes.
• Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe.

6. Your choices and rights

• Email updates. Unsubscribe with the link in any email, or by emailing us.
• Monthly donations. Change or cancel at any time using the link in your receipt.
• Access, correction and deletion. You can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. We'll respond within 30 days. We may need to keep certain records, such as donation receipts, where the law requires it.

California residents. The California Consumer Privacy Act generally applies to for-profit businesses, and as a nonprofit we are not a "business" under that law. We nonetheless honor requests to know, correct and delete personal information as described above, and we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We will not treat you differently for exercising any of these choices.

Visitors outside the United States. This Site is operated from the United States and our services are offered in the United States and Canada. Information you provide is processed in the United States.

7. Children

The Site is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. Adoption, foster and volunteer applicants must be adults. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact us and we'll delete it.

8. Security

Donations are handled entirely by Stripe over encrypted connections, and card details never touch our systems. Form submissions are stored in an access-controlled content system available only to authorized volunteers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information you give us.

9. Links to other sites

The Site links to Petfinder, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Venmo, Amazon and other services. Their privacy practices are their own, and we encourage you to read their policies.

10. Changes to this policy

If we make a material change, we'll update the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, note the change on the Site. Continued use of the Site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact

Let's Rescue Dogs, Southern California. Email info@letsrescuedogs.net or call +1 (213) 776-5886. We don't publish a street address because our dogs live in private foster homes.