Privacy policy

1. Controller

The controller for data processing on this website and within the association is

Aluna Tierhilfe e.V.
Linnicher Straße 11
52428 Jülich, Germany
represented by the board: Uta Nicole Wießner, Jennifer Jorgol, Jörg Wießner

Email: info@aluna-tierhilfe.org
Phone: +49 152 27101822

No data protection officer has been appointed, because fewer than 20 people in the association are permanently engaged in the automated processing of personal data (§ 38 BDSG). For any question about data protection, contact the board at the email address above.

2. In short

This website is a static site. It sets no cookies, uses no analytics or advertising services, and loads fonts and images only from our own server. We process personal data only when you write to us, submit an application, donate, become a member or adopt a dog. The following sections explain exactly what happens in each case.

3. Visiting the website (hosting and server log files)

The website is hosted by IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany, in a data centre in Germany. When you open a page, your browser transmits technically necessary data to the host. According to IONOS, this covers the page or file requested, the previously visited page (referrer), browser type and version, operating system, device type, the time of access and the IP address in anonymised form; the data is kept for eight weeks.

The purpose is delivering the site and keeping it secure and stable. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure, working website (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with IONOS. No data is transferred to countries outside the EU in this process.

4. Cookies, tracking, fonts

We set no cookies and store nothing in your browser. There is no web analytics, no tracking and no advertising service, and therefore no cookie banner. Fonts and images are served from our own server; opening the site establishes no connection to Google Fonts or any other third party. There is no access to your device within the meaning of § 25 TDDDG.

5. Contact by email

In several places the site offers links that open your email program with a prepared message, for example with a dog's name in the subject. The website itself receives nothing from this; only when you send the message do we process what it contains: your email address, your name and the content of the message.

The purpose is handling your enquiry. The legal basis is the initiation or performance of a contract where the enquiry concerns an adoption or a supporting membership (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR), and otherwise our legitimate interest in answering your message (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). Messages are kept in our mailbox and deleted once your enquiry is settled and no statutory retention obligation applies. Correspondence belonging to a contract or a donation is retained for up to ten years under § 147 of the German Fiscal Code (AO).

6. Enquiries about dogs of our partner associations

Dogs we present on behalf of partner associations are rehomed by them. In that case the site refers you directly to the partner's profile, and you contact them under their own privacy policy. We receive no data from you in this case.

7. Applications (adoption and supporting-membership applications)

Instead of an online form, we provide fillable PDF documents. Filling them in happens entirely on your device; the website receives nothing. Only when you send the document to us by email or post do we process the data it contains.

Adoption. We process your contact details and the information from the self-disclosure about your living situation (such as housing, household, experience with dogs) in order to assess whether a dog suits you, for a pre-adoption home visit, for the adoption contract and for agreed follow-up visits. Where necessary for the placement, we pass your name and contact details to the partner association or partner shelter caring for the dog (within the EU). The legal basis is the initiation and performance of the adoption contract (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR). Under the German Animal Welfare Act and the conditions of our permit under § 11 TierSchG we must record the origin and whereabouts of every animal (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR); this includes the name and address of the person taking an animal.

Supporting membership and membership. We process your contact details, the date of joining, the contribution amount and, for collecting the contribution, your bank details together with the SEPA direct debit mandate. Bank details are passed only to our bank to execute the direct debit. The legal basis is the membership (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR) and our obligations under association and tax law (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR). We do not pass member data to third parties and do not use it for advertising.

Applications we do not accept are deleted no later than six months after the refusal. Contract and membership data is kept for the duration of the relationship and afterwards for as long as statutory retention periods require (up to ten years under § 147 AO).

8. Donations

Via PayPal. On our donation page we link to PayPal's donate button. It is a plain link: we embed no script and no content from PayPal, and as long as you do not click, there is no connection to PayPal. After the click, PayPal's donation page opens in a new tab. PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22–24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg, is an independent controller for the payment; the PayPal privacy statement applies. PayPal passes us your name, your email address, the amount and, if you provide them, your postal address and your message. We process this data to book the donation, to say thank you and, if you request a donation receipt or one is legally required, to issue it — never for advertising or newsletters. The legal basis is our obligations under tax law (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR) and our legitimate interest in proper bookkeeping (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). Accounting records are retained for ten years under § 147 AO.

By bank transfer. If you donate to our bank account, we receive your name, your bank details and the payment reference with the credit. We process them to book the donation and, if you request a donation receipt or one is legally required, to issue it. The legal basis is our obligations under tax law (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR) and our legitimate interest in proper bookkeeping (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). Accounting records are retained for ten years under § 147 AO.

9. Photos and adoption stories

Under "Happy endings" we show photos, a quote, the abbreviated name and the home town of the family that adopted a dog, and on the "About us" page the names, photos and roles of our active members. This happens only with the prior consent of the persons shown or named (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). Consent can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future; we then remove the item from the website. Photos of the dogs contain no personal data.

10. Social networks and external links

We link to our profiles on Instagram and Facebook and to our partners' websites. These are plain links; we embed no plugins, buttons or content from these providers. Only when you follow a link does the respective provider process your data under its own terms. The operators of the linked sites are responsible for their content and data protection.

11. Recipients and processors

Your data reaches only those who need it for the respective purpose: our hosting provider IONOS (processor), the provider of our mailbox (processor), our bank (for direct debits and transfers), PayPal (as an independent controller for donations via PayPal) and, in the course of an adoption, the partner association or shelter caring for the dog. No data is transferred to countries outside the EU, apart from what happens when you yourself open the linked social networks or PayPal.

12. Retention

We keep personal data only as long as necessary for the respective purpose. After that we delete it unless statutory retention obligations apply; tax-relevant records are kept for up to ten years under § 147 AO, and records of the whereabouts of animals for as long as animal welfare law requires. Specific periods are stated in the respective sections.

13. Your rights

You have the right to obtain information about the data we hold about you (Art. 15 GDPR), to rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18) and data portability (Art. 20). You may object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on our legitimate interest (Art. 21). Consent you have given can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future. Please use the email address above.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The authority responsible for us is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia (LDI NRW), Kavalleriestraße 2–4, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany, www.ldi.nrw.de.

14. No automated decisions

We make no decisions based solely on automated processing and create no profiles.

15. Changes

We update this policy when our website, our services or the legal situation change. The version published here applies.

Version: 22. Oktober 2026