VDHA Privacy Policy

The Vietnam Dog Handlers Association (“VDHA,” “we,” “us”) runs vdha.us to honor the men who served as war dog handlers and the dogs who served with them, and to serve our members. This policy explains what information the site collects, why, who can see it, and the choices you have.

We keep this simple: we collect what we need to run the association, the memorial records, and the BX store. We do not sell your information.

Information we collect

We collect information you give us directly and a small amount the site records automatically.

When you apply for membership: your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, and details of your military service such as branch, units, dates of service, and the dogs you handled.

When you have a member account: your username, password (stored in scrambled form we cannot read), membership level, join and renewal dates, and anything you add to your profile, such as a biography or photos.

When you buy from the BX or pay dues: your name, billing and shipping address, email, phone, and what you ordered.

When you submit a handler or a missing dog: the names, service details, and stories you send us about that handler or dog, plus your own name and contact information so we can follow up.

When you contact us: whatever you choose to include in your message.

Automatically: basic technical information that every website receives, such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you visit. Our hosting company keeps standard server logs for security and troubleshooting.

Handler and dog memorial records

The heart of vdha.us is its record of war dog handlers and their dogs. Many of these records came from the association’s earlier website and decades of member submissions, and they include handlers who are not current members and handlers who have passed away.

Individual handler and dog pages are public. Anyone can view them, and search engines such as Google can list them. A handler page may show the handler’s name, branch, units, dates of service, dogs, photos, and biography. We do not show home addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses on these pages.

Searching and browsing the full collection is for active members only. Handler Search, Dog Search, the Member Directory, and the lists of handlers and dogs by unit or category require an active membership.

If you see a record about yourself or a family member that is wrong, or that you want changed or removed, contact us (see the end of this policy).

How we use your information

To review membership applications and keep membership records
To send renewal reminders, payment links, and other notices about your membership
To process and ship BX orders and record dues payments
To build and correct the handler and dog memorial records
To mail the DogMan newsletter to members who receive the paper copy
To answer your questions and requests
To keep the site secure and working properly

We do not use your information for advertising.

Payments

Card and PayPal payments are handled by PayPal. Your card number goes directly to PayPal and is never stored on vdha.us. We see only the result of the payment, such as the amount, date, and whether it went through.

If you pay by check, we record that your payment was received and apply it to your order or membership.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

Within the association, membership records are handled by the officers who need them to do their jobs, such as the Treasurer for membership and dues and the BX Manager for store orders.

We also rely on a few outside services to run the site. They receive only what they need to do that job:

Hostinger hosts the website and our vdha.us email.
PayPal processes card and PayPal payments.
Google provides the map on the Member Directory and stores submissions from the Add a Missing Dog form in a Google Sheet that association officers use to review them.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

Cookies

Cookies are small files your browser stores so a website can remember you between pages. vdha.us uses them only for what the site needs to work:

Sign-in cookies keep you signed in to your member account as you move from page to page.
Store cookies remember what is in your BX cart until you check out.

We do not use advertising cookies. [Confirm: if a visitor-counting tool such as Google Analytics is added to the site, name it here.]

If you use a shared or library computer, sign out when you finish so the next person cannot use your account.

The Member Directory and map

The Member Directory is visible only to active members. It can show your name, photo, membership level, the year you joined, and your city and state.

Your location appears as a pin on the directory map only if you choose to show it. You can turn the map pin off, or hide yourself from the directory, at any time by contacting us.

Your choices

See or correct your information. Members can update their biography and photos from their profile. For anything else, contact us and we will fix it.
Remove a record. Ask us to remove or limit a handler or dog record about you or a family member. Because these records are part of the association’s history, we may keep a basic entry (name, branch, and dogs) while removing personal details, and we will tell you what we did.
Stop emails. Membership notices such as renewal reminders are part of being a member, but you can ask us to stop any other email at any time.
Close your account. Ask us to close your member account. We keep payment and membership records as long as needed for the association’s financial records.

Security

The site uses a secure (https) connection, passwords are stored in scrambled form, and access to member records is limited to the officers who need it. No website can promise perfect security, but we take reasonable care to protect what you share with us.

How long we keep information

Membership and payment records are kept as long as the association needs them for its records. Handler and dog memorial records are kept as part of the association’s permanent history unless you ask us to change or remove them.

Children

vdha.us is not meant for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will post the new version on this page with a new effective date.

Contact us

For questions, corrections, or removal requests, contact the VDHA Treasurer:

Bob Palochik bobpalochik@vdha.us 702-845-2944

You can also reach us through the Contact page.