Privacy Policy for HearthHound Emporium

HearthHound Emporium ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us. Please read this policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual (“Personal Data”). We collect various types of information, including:

• Information you provide to us: This includes information you provide when you register for an account, make a purchase, book a service (e.g., grooming, training), facilitate a pet adoption, complete a form, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, or communicate with us. This may include your name, address, email address, phone number, payment information, pet details (e.g., name, breed, age, health conditions for grooming/training purposes).
• Information collected automatically: When you access and use our site, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and the dates/times of your visits. This is primarily for analytics and to improve your experience.
• Information from third parties: In specific cases, we may receive information about you from third-party partners, such as pet adoption agencies or veterinary consultation referral services, where you have provided your consent for such sharing.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

• To provide, operate, and maintain our services, including processing transactions for pet food, supplies, and booking pet grooming and training workshops.
• To facilitate pet adoption processes and connect you with relevant agencies.
• To manage your account, provide customer support, and send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and administrative messages.
• To communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, and events offered by HearthHound Emporium and others, and provide news and information we think will be of interest to you.
• To personalise and improve your experience on our site, including delivering content and product/service offerings relevant to your interests.
• To monitor and analyse trends, usage, and activities in connection with our services.
• To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of HearthHound Emporium and others.
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For individuals in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK, we process your Personal Data based on the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a contract: When processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g., processing your order for pet supplies, booking a grooming appointment).
• Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by HearthHound Emporium or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms (e.g., improving our services, preventing fraud, direct marketing where a legitimate interest exists).
• Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for the processing of your Personal Data for one or more specific purposes (e.g., for sending marketing communications when a legitimate interest basis is not applicable). You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
• Legal obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (e.g., tax and accounting requirements).

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your information with:

• Service Providers: Third-party vendors and other service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, pet grooming specialists, or pet training instructors.
• Pet Adoption Facilitation Partners: With your consent, we may share relevant information with vetted pet adoption agencies to facilitate the adoption process.
• Veterinary Consultation Referrals: With your consent, we may share necessary information when facilitating referrals to veterinary consultation services.
• Legal Compliance and Protection: If required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) comply with a legal obligation, (b) protect and defend the rights or property of HearthHound Emporium, (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the service or the public, or (d) protect against legal liability.
• Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.
• With Your Consent: We may disclose your Personal Data for any other purpose with your consent.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures designed to protect the security of any Personal Data we process. However, please remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the Personal Data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your Personal Data, the purposes for which we process your Personal Data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

7. Your Data Protection Rights (GDPR)

If you are a resident of the EEA or the UK, you have certain data protection rights. We aim to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data. Your rights include:

• The right to access: You have the right to request copies of your Personal Data.
• The right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
• The right to erasure: You have the right to request that we erase your Personal Data, under certain conditions.
• The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your Personal Data, under certain conditions.
• The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data, under certain conditions.
• The right to data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organisation, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
• The right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the EEA Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of Personal Data relating to you infringes the GDPR.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided below.

8. Third-Party Websites

Our site may contain links to third-party websites. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under 16. If we become aware that we have inadvertently received Personal Data from a child under the age of 16, we will delete such information from our records.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or your rights, please contact us:

HearthHound Emporium

2847 Willowbrook Road

Suite 3A

Bristol, South West England

BS8 2HL

United Kingdom