Privacy when you report a dog

Lost Dogs Ayrshire is a volunteer group that helps find missing dogs in Ayrshire. This page explains what happens to the information you give us when you use our Report a Dog page to tell us about a lost, loose or found dog, or that you have seen one of the dogs we are looking for.

What we keep

• About the dog: what you tell us, such as the dog's name (if it is yours), where and when, a description, a map pin and a photo if you add them.
• About you: your name and your phone number.
• If you report for the owner: your relationship to them, and the owner's name and phone number.

We do not ask for your address, email or anything else, and the page does not use advertising or tracking cookies.

If you report a dog for its owner

If you are reporting a lost dog for its owner, we also ask for your relationship to the owner and the owner's name and phone number. We use the owner's details only to phone them about their dog and ask their permission. We will not start a search or post about the dog until the owner has agreed. If you are the owner and someone has given us your details, they are kept and deleted in the same way as below, and you can ask us to delete them at any time.

Why we keep it

So that one of our coordinators can phone you about the dog, and so we can search for it or reunite it with its family. We only keep your details because you ticked the box to agree. We never sell them or use them for anything else.

Who can see it

• Only Lost Dogs Ayrshire's coordinators and admins can see your report and the contact details in it.
• Names and phone numbers are never shown publicly and never posted on Facebook or anywhere else.
• Details about the dog (not about you) may be used in our search, and in posts and posters to help find the dog or its family.
• Your report is stored securely by Google, which provides the database we use, and is protected in transit and in storage.

How long we keep it

Your report is deleted automatically 30 days after a coordinator has dealt with it, or after 60 days if it was never dealt with. Reports that are clearly not genuine may be deleted sooner.

Photos

Before a photo is sent, your phone makes it smaller and removes the hidden information cameras add (such as where it was taken).

Stopping misuse

To stop the page being flooded with reports, we keep a scrambled code made from your internet connection for up to two days. We never store your actual internet address.

The list of dogs on the page

The list shows only each dog's photo, name, area and status. No owner's or reporter's details are ever shown.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR) you can ask to see the information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. You can also change your mind about being contacted at any time. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).