Privacy Policy
Rescue, reunite and rehome dogs and cats across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
To create a community where unwanted and mistreated animals are given a voice and a second chance for a happy and forever home; and where anybody who can, will act to advocate for animals still suffering.
Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is a charity registered in Scotland (Charity registration number: SC006914) and a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland (Company registration number: SC466183) having our registered office at 26 Seafield Road East, Edinburgh, EH15 1EH.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, registration number ZA488333.
This Privacy Policy aims to give you information on how the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home collects and processes your personal data through your use of this website, our services, participations at events, when you make a donation, and any other contact you may have with us where you pass on your details. This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.
Our privacy policy relates to any personal details we hold or collect about you.
Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is the controller and is responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Statement). We have appointed a Data Protection Manager who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to data protection and this policy.
Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is one of the data processors of your data and is responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Statement). We have appointed a Data Protection Manager who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this Privacy Statement.
Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home may share your data with third parties or collect personal data about you from third parties. More information can be found in the section “How we share your data”.
If you would like to make an enquiry about data protection, update the information we hold about you, request a copy of the information we hold about you or opt out of receiving marketing, please contact the Data Protection Manager as follows;
By Email: dataprotection@edch.org.uk
By Post: Data Protection, Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, 26 Seafield Road East, Edinburgh, EH15 1EH
Phone: 0131 669 5331
You have a right at any time to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues ( www.ico.org.uk ). We would, however, welcome the opportunity to deal with any concerns you may have prior to you approaching the ICO so we may resolve your complaint and make things right. Please contact us at the details above.
Our privacy policy is a live document and may therefore change from time to time as our communication activities change. All changes will be published here, on our website. This version was last updated on 14/12/2021.
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. While we make every attempt to keep information we retain accurate, we request that you let us know if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
When we refer to personal data or information in this policy we mean any information that relates to you or animals you may be associated with. Personal information is collected directly from you when you interact with Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, for example rehoming a dog or cat, filling in a customer interest or rehoming enquiry form, boarding your pet, making an donation (of any kind), sending or receiving an email, making an enquiry by post, phone, email, or social media platforms, visiting our websites, using our app, applying for a role with us, participating in an event or when signing up to a campaign or to receive our newsletter. Information may be collected in person, over the phone, via email, through our websites or app, social media platforms, or from something you’ve posted to us.
We may conduct wealth research on individuals. Sources include but are not limited to search engines and directories such as Companies House. We may use external wealth researchers. All wealth research, both internal or external, will comply with GDPR.
Information about you may be collected by third parties on our behalf, such as fundraising agencies we engage with. We may also have information about you passed to us in the interest of animal welfare and safety from member of the public, or regulatory and authority bodies or organisations such as the SSPCA, Police, or Councils.
The information we hold will typically include some of, or all of the following:
your name
postal and email addresses
your phone number
financial transaction history with us
previous communication with us
details of how and why you have contacted us
information about animals you have a relationship with or interest in and details of that relationship and our relationship with you and the animals(s).
It may also include information like your date of birth and your bank details if you are supporting us financially. We may also receive information about you from other sources (including public sources). This is explained in the ‘How we might use your information’ section below.
Informing Rehoming Decisions
Personal information shared with Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home on our rehoming interest or registration forms, either on paper or via our website, is seen by members of our office staff and volunteers as well as our kennel and cattery team to inform rehoming decisions and find the best possible animal match for our customers. These forms are kept to ensure that customers can make multiple visits to find a suitable pet.
If you rehome or surrender an animal, your personal information is stored on our animal database. This information is stored indefinitely in order to be able to identify animal ownership, which is essential for animal protection.
The personal data you provide as part of the rehoming information we request such as your name, address, phone number, and communication preferences are held indefinitely to either allow us to communicate with you about the work of the Home, our events, services, campaigns, and appeals, or to ensure we do not communicate with you if you have told us not to do so.
In all instances involving rehoming we use legitimate interest as our lawful basis for communicating with you and processing your data, either to provide you with customer service with regards to your interest in rehoming or surrendering an animal, or to communicate with you about the Home as we feel you have shown legitimate interest in our work by engaging with us on rehoming.
When contacting you in relation to your initial enquiry we will do so in the manner you have contacted us by responding to your email, phoning, or writing to you by post. When contacting you about the Home for a purpose outside that which you initially engaged with us on we will only do so by phone or post, unless you have given us permission to contact you via email or SMS. If we have gotten this wrong, and you do not want to receive communications from us outside of the specific purpose you first engaged with us on, or would like us to communicate with you in a different way, you can let us know simply and easily as detailed above in the “Contacting us” section of this policy.
When you make a donation or other payment to Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, we will use your payment and contact details, payment amount, date and time of payment; to process that payment and take any follow-up administrative action needed (for example, sending a receipt).
If you choose to include Gift Aid with a donation to us, then we will also ask for your address and UK taxpayer status as this information is required by law. This information is needed for us to fulfil our obligations under tax and charity law. Information associated with Gift Aid declarations must be retained for 6 years from the end of the last financial year to which they relate. This information will be shared with HMRC for tax regulation purposes and may also be shared with the Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission in the event of an enquiry or investigation.
We have a contractual obligation to process your data when making a payment. If you have donated to us we may use the contact details provided to communicate with you about the work of the Home, our events, services, appeals and campaigns unless you have told us not to do so.
We use your and our legitimate interests as our lawful basis for communicating with you about the Home as we feel you have shown legitimate interest in our work by supporting us.
When contacting you in relation to your initial enquiry we will do so in the manner you have contacted us by responding to your email, phoning, or writing to you by post. When contacting you about the Home for a purpose outside that which you initially engaged with us on we will only do so by phone or post, unless you have given us permission to contact you via email or SMS. If we have gotten this wrong, and you do not want to receive communications from us outside of the specific purpose you first engaged with us on, or would like us to communicate with you in a different way, you can let us know simply and easily as detailed above in the “Contacting us” section of this policy.
If you contact us with a question, comment, compliment or complaint then we will keep a record of this communication and the personal details you have provided so that we have the information available in the event of a follow-up, dispute or investigation. This includes enquiries made via our website, email, telephone, post or via our social media channels. This information may be seen by managers, office staff and volunteers at the Home. Details of complaints and compliments may be shared with other staff or 3rd parties involved in order to provide feedback or improve our services.
When contacting you in relation to your initial enquiry we will endeavour to do so in the manner you have contacted us by responding to your email, phoning, or writing to you by post.
If you participate in an event that we have organised, we may ask you to provide information to make sure we can manage the event safely and efficiently. We may also ask you for details of any dietary requirements and accessibility needs which you may have, so that we ensure our event is inclusive, in line with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.
We will communicate with our event attendees by email, phone or post to offer information that will affect their attendance on the day.
If you participate in an event organised an external party or donate through a processor like JustGiving, then your information may be passed to us by the processor.
We have a contractual obligation to process your data when taking part in an event with us either as a participant, supplier, or service provider.
If you have taken part in one of our events we may use the contact details you have provided to communicate with you about the work of the Home, our events, services, appeals and campaigns unless you have told us not to do so. We use your and our legitimate interest as our lawful basis for communicating with you about the Home as you have shown legitimate interest in our work by supporting us.
When contacting you in relation to your initial enquiry we will endeavour to do so in the manner you have contacted us by responding to your email, phoning, or writing to you by post. When contacting you about the Home for a purpose outside that which you initially engaged with us on we will only do so by phone or post, unless you have given us permission to contact you via email or SMS. If we have gotten this wrong, and you do not want to receive communications from us outside of the specific purpose you first engaged with us on, or would like us to communicate with you in a different way, you can let us know simply and easily as detailed above in the “Contacting us” section of this policy.
If you have signed up via our website to receive our newsletter, we will send you this via the email address you have provided using your consent as our lawful basis for doing so. We may also make contact to keep you informed of Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home’s vital work to rescue, reunite and rehome stray and unwanted pets across Edinburgh and the Lothians. If you have supplied us with your email address, we may use these details to communicate updates on our dogs and cats, events, campaigns and services that we think you might be interested in. If we have gotten this wrong, and you do not want to receive communications from us outside of the specific purpose you first engaged with us on, or would like us to communicate with you in a different way, you can let us know simply and easily as detailed above in the “Contacting us” section of this policy.
Email and SMS
Where you have provided your email address or mobile number and have opted in to receive emails and/or SMS from us, we may send you marketing and fundraising communications in that way. These communications may include information about our activities and their impact, our news, events and fundraising appeals, and other ways you can become involved with us. We use consent as our lawful basis for communicating with you via email or SMS as you will have given us consent to contact you in this way. If we have gotten this wrong, and you do not want to receive communications from us in this way, you can let us know simply and easily as detailed above in the “Contacting us” section of this policy.
Post and Phone
Where you have provided us with your postal address we may send you occasional communications by post including our Taily Mail newsletter, information on our activities and donor appeals unless you have asked us not to do so. If you have provided your telephone number, we may call your telephone with information on campaigns or to ask you to donate to one of our appeals, unless you have asked us not to do so.
You can let us know at any time, if you’d prefer to change how we share information with you or stop it altogether. Simply contact us on 0131 669 5331 / dataprotection@edch.org.uk or if you receive our e-newsletter or other emails, you can also use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.
We will keep your personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed (in accordance with our internal policies/retention policy). If you ask us not to contact you, we will keep some basic information about you in order to avoid sending you unwanted materials in the future.
To know more around our fundraising practice including face to face and telephone fundraising, click here
To get the best possible rehoming and fundraising results for Edinburgh’s stray and unwanted dogs and cats, we do some research and analysis to inform our marketing and fundraising decisions. We may use technology to do this in the form of cookies or tracking software. We may also use post codes we have collected to track the areas in which our customers or supporters are most active. We usually cannot identify you when using these methods. We carry out the following activities:
Analysing how emails are opened and read – we track emails which we have sent to you to see which messages have the highest response rates and whether there are messages that resonate with particular groups of people. We do this by logging whether emails we send have been opened, deleted and interacted with (for example, by clicking on links within the emails).
Segmentation – this is where we analyse information such as postcodes of supporters, and whether donations have been given regularly. This helps us to tailor appropriate communications to you, as well as improve your experience as an Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home supporter.
Cookies – we use cookies on our website, mobile app, and sometimes in emails. Cookies are a way of your preferences being stored on our website. When you access our websites, some cookies are saved to your computer, for example if you have chosen a particular language setting or created a user account. You can turn off your cookies in your web browser so that we can’t access this information. You can also install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on here, which will prevent data being used by Google Analytics for analysis and remarketing purposes.
Use of external sources – We use various social media platforms as third party data controllers and processors to help us target advertising to platform users who we feel may be interested in our work or support our cause. Where you have given us your personal data we may use this to create mosaic profiles to target new supporters. Where you have given us consent to use your personal data (such as your email address) we may use this to target advertising to you via social media platforms.
You can request more information on these activities, or change your preferences, at any time by calling us on 0131 669 5331 or emailing dataprotection@edch.org.uk.
Please download a copy of our recruitment privacy statement to find out more about how we use your data during the recruitment process.
We sometimes use third-party job application platforms and recruitment services to publish and receive applications for our vacancies. When you apply through these portals the organisation’s privacy information will be available to you. We only work alongside other organisations in this way if we are satisfied that they will keep your information safely and use it only in the same legal ways that we would.
As with all charities, we ensure that our activities comply with the law. Therefore, we may need to share or use your personal information if we are required to do so by law (for example; in response to a warrant or court order) and we may use information from other sources for the purposes of fraud prevention, for example to comply with money laundering regulations, or to protect people’s rights, property or safety.
If certain levels of donation are made, the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice requires us, and all charities in the UK, to perform checks. More details can be found at www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk.
The Home uses CCTV for the following purposes;
Prevention and detection of crime, harassment or disorder.
Apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
Provision of evidence in criminal proceedings.
Interest of public and employee safety.
Protection of property and assets.
A copy of our CCTV Policy can be downloaded here.
The Home may take still photographs or live video footage at events associated with the Home. A copy of our Photography Policy can be found here.
We will use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose, your legitimate interest, or the legitimate interest of the Home and its animal residents.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. Please note, we may process your personal data without your knowledge where this is required by law.
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal details from being accidentally lost, used or accessed by unauthorised personnel, altered or disclosed. We limit access to your personal information to only those employees, contractors or other third parties who have a genuine business “need” to know. Authorised persons accessing your personal information do so within the limits and controls of our data Protection Policy.
We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data breach promptly and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required so to do.
We will only retain your personal data for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purpose for which we originally collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or statutory reporting requirements.
The Home will only ever share personal details of our customers and supporters with agencies working on our behalf. For example, mailing services who send our marketing and fundraising materials on our behalf, fundraising agencies who may contact you with information about appeals or campaigns, and or our website provider, who will analyse website usage on our behalf.
Organisations we work with who process personal information in the USA (for example our Mailchimp email marketing platform) have verified their data processing standards meet the EU-US Privacy Shield, which sets out clear safeguards and transparency responsibilities for US-based organisations processing personal information from EU citizens.
Additionally, we will share information as directed and required in accordance with the legislative requirements of the United Kingdom.
Local Authorities: We may be legally obliged to share your data with the police or local dog wardens if your dog or cat has been found straying.
Third party platforms: We use several third party platforms to help us communicate with you, store your data, or process your data. We limit the amount of data we share to only that which is essential for their purposes. Any personal data which is not covered under a retention policy is destroyed.
Some third parties we work with are the data collectors and share your data with us. This may be if you signed up for an event or to donate through a third party website. Once your data is passed to us it is subject to all the conditions and retention periods stated above.
You have the protection of several rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data;
Request access to your personal data
Request that a correction is made to your personal data
Request that we erase your personal data (full erasure may not be possible for legal reasons)
Object to the processing of your personal data
Request restrictions to the processing of your personal data
Request a transfer of your personal data
Exercise your right to withdraw consent
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact the Data Protection Officer.
You will not usually have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or any other of the rights listed above). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. We may also refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
We will endeavour to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer if your request is of a complex nature or if you have made several requests. In this case we will notify you and keep you updated.