Field & Hound Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides countryside dog day care and home boarding in East Bergholt, Suffolk. We operate the website www.fieldandhound.co.uk, the customer booking portal at bookings.fieldandhound.co.uk, and the Field & Hound mobile app.
We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. We take the privacy of our customers — and the care records of their dogs — seriously. This policy explains what we collect, why, where it is kept, who can see it, and your rights.
Contact: info@fieldandhound.co.uk · 07881 305977 · Field & Hound Ltd, East Bergholt, Suffolk ICO registration: ZC109302
1. What we collect
About you
Name, email address, phone number(s) and postal address
Emergency contact details you provide
Your answers to our registration screening questionnaire (used to assess suitability of our setting for your dog)
How you heard about us (used only for our own marketing statistics)
Account credit balance, booking history, invoices and payment records
Messages you exchange with our team through the portal or app
Correspondence during account approval
About your dog
Name, breed, date of birth, sex, microchip number, photo
Vaccination dates and copies of vaccination certificates you upload
Medical information: medications, dosing schedules and administration logs, allergies, food intolerances, veterinary practice details
Behavioural notes, feeding and care instructions
Insurance provider and policy details
Daily care reports and photos taken during your dog's stay
Technical
A secure login session token, held in your browser or app only while you are signed in
If you enable notifications in our iOS app, an Apple push notification token for your device
We do not use advertising or analytics trackers, we do not build advertising profiles, and we never sell personal data.
2. Why we collect it (lawful bases)
Purpose
Lawful basis
Creating your account, taking bookings, providing day care and boarding
Performance of a contract
Holding vaccination, medication and health records for dogs in our care
Legitimate interests (animal welfare and safety) and legal obligations relating to animal boarding licensing
Screening new registrations for suitability
Legitimate interests (safety of dogs and staff)
Sending booking confirmations, reminders, vaccination expiry alerts and care reports
Performance of a contract
Taking payments and maintaining financial records
Performance of a contract; legal obligation (accounting)
Photos of your dog in care reports
Consent (you may ask us not to)
Push notifications in the app
Consent (controlled in your device settings)
3. Who processes your data for us
We use a small number of trusted service providers:
Stripe — card payments. Your card details are entered directly with Stripe and never touch or reside on our systems; we retain only the last four digits and a payment reference. See stripe.com/privacy.
Render — secure cloud hosting of our booking system and database.
Google (Gmail / Google Workspace) — sending transactional emails (confirmations, reminders, care reports) and our business mailbox.
Apple — push notification delivery for the iOS app, only if you enable notifications.
Where these providers process data outside the UK, transfers are protected by UK-approved safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum / adequacy regulations and each provider's standard contractual protections.
4. Who can see your information
Our staff, for the purpose of caring for your dog and managing your bookings. Staff may keep internal handling notes about a dog (for example, “nervous around large dogs — settle in the quiet field first”); these are working care notes and are not shared outside the team.
No third parties receive your data for marketing. We never sell or rent personal information.
We may disclose information if required by law, or to a vet in an emergency involving your dog.
5. How long we keep it
Account, dog and booking records: for as long as you hold an account with us, and up to 24 months after your last activity, so records are available if you return.
Financial records (invoices, payments): 6 years, as required by UK tax law.
Messages and approval correspondence: while your account is active.
Unsuccessful or declined registrations: archived, and deleted on request.
You can ask us to delete your account and records at any time (see Your Rights); we will keep only what tax law requires.
6. Security
All connections to our booking system use HTTPS encryption.
Access to customer records is restricted to authenticated staff accounts.
Payments are handled entirely by Stripe — we never store card numbers.
Login sessions expire when you close your browser; the app stores its session securely on your device.
7. Cookies & local storage
The booking portal does not use advertising or analytics cookies. We use only:
a session token so you stay signed in while using the portal (cleared when the browser closes), and
a small local cache of non-personal data (our service and price list) to make pages load faster.
8. Children
Our services and accounts are intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
9. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and your dog
Rectification — correct anything inaccurate (much of this you can edit yourself in the portal)
Erasure — ask us to delete your data (“right to be forgotten”)
Restriction and objection — limit or object to particular processing
Portability — receive your data in a portable format
To exercise any of these, email info@fieldandhound.co.uk. We will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).
10. Changes to this policy
We will post any changes here and update the date at the top. Significant changes will be flagged to account holders by email or in the portal.