Privacy

itchydog.vet is run by Dr. Steve Pelton, DVM, Hearthstone Animal Clinic, 14606 FM 529 Rd, Houston, TX 77095. The site and its database run on servers I control in Texas.

If you just use the forecast or the tools: nothing that identifies you. The site counts how many forecasts are looked up for each ZIP code each day so I know it's being used. Your last ZIP, your dog's weight in the dose tool and a few settings are saved in your own browser, not on my server.

If you sign up for forecast heads-ups: your email address and ZIP code, so I can send them.

If you make an itch diary account: your email address (and your name if you sign in with Google), plus what you tell me about your dog: name, photo, breed, ZIP code, birth year, sex and weight, your daily itch check-ins, baths, notes, and any medicines or foods you log. That's what builds your dog's streak, awards and 8-week report.

If you share a report with your vet: the site makes a private link that anyone holding it can open, read-only, until it expires (90 days) or you turn it off. I count how many times a link is opened.

I may look at the data, without names or emails, to learn things like which breeds itch most or whether the forecast actually predicts bad days. If I ever publish anything from it, it'll be totals only, never anything that points to you or your dog.

There are no passwords. I email you a button and a 6-digit code, or you can sign in with your Google account. With Google, I only get your name and email address. I never see your Google password and can't access anything else in your Google account. Your browser keeps a sign-in token so you stay signed in.

You'll only get emails you signed up for: your sign-in link, forecast heads-ups, and itch check-ins for your dog. Every recurring email has a one-click unsubscribe and a "pause for a month" link. Replies come to me.

A few services handle specific jobs. None of them get your dog's diary.

• Cloudflare carries traffic to the site securely and protects it from attacks.
• Resend sends the emails, so it sees your email address and the email itself.
• Google provides pollen data. The site sends Google the rough location of a ZIP code, never who's asking. If you choose Google sign-in, Google handles that too.
• Open-Meteo provides weather for the same rough location.

I don't sell, rent or trade your information, and I don't use it for ads.

As long as you have an account or are subscribed. When you delete a dog or your account, or unsubscribe, it's removed from the live site right away. The database is also backed up every night so nothing gets lost by accident, so older backup copies can still hold it. Those stay on my own server and are only there to restore the site if something breaks.

• Edit your dog's details any time from its page.
• Delete a dog yourself, from the bottom of its page or its Edit panel. Its photo, check-ins, notes, medicines, report and any vet share links go with it.
• Delete your whole account yourself, from the Account section at the bottom of your dogs page. That removes every dog and everything above, the forecast heads-ups for your email, and your sign-in.
• Unsubscribe or pause from any email.
• Turn off a vet share link from your dog's report.
• Want a copy of what I have, or anything else? Reply to any itchydog.vet email, or write to the clinic at the address above, and I'll take care of it.

The site is meant for adults. I don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.

If this policy changes in a way that matters, I'll update the date at the top, and if you have an account I'll let you know by email.