Terms of Use
Last updated: January 2026
These Terms of Use are an agreement between you and Barks of Love Animal Rescue, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (EIN 26-3647040), regarding your use of this website and the forms and services offered through it. By browsing this site, submitting an application, or making a donation through our giving links, you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, please do not use the site. Nothing here limits any right you have under California or federal law.
1. Purpose of This Website
This site exists to advance our charitable mission: rescuing abandoned, neglected, and at-risk animals in Southern California, providing veterinary care and foster housing, placing animals in permanent homes, and educating the public about responsible pet ownership. Information here is published for the benefit of adopters, fosters, volunteers, donors, and community partners. It is not a commercial storefront, and we do not sell products or services through this site.
2. Acceptable Use
You agree to use this site lawfully and in good faith. You may not submit false information on an application, impersonate another person, attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems or accounts, scrape or harvest contact information for solicitation, transmit malware, interfere with the site's operation, or use our animal listings or photographs to facilitate resale, breeding, research, or any other activity inconsistent with our mission. We may decline service or refuse an application from anyone who violates these terms.
3. Adoptable Animal Listings
Animal profiles describe each rescue as accurately as we can based on veterinary examination, foster observation, and any history available to us. Many rescued animals arrive with no known background. Age estimates, breed descriptions, weight, and temperament notes are informed opinions, not guarantees, and behavior can change as an animal settles into a new environment. Listings are not offers to contract: an animal remains available until an application is approved and an adoption agreement is signed, and we may remove or update a listing at any time.
4. Applications
Submitting an adoption, foster, or volunteer application does not create an obligation on either side. We review each application on its merits and on the needs of the individual animal, and we may approve, decline, or place an application on hold at our discretion. By submitting an application you confirm that the information in it is true, that you are at least 18 years old, and that you authorize us to contact the references and, where applicable, the landlord you provided.
5. Donations
Online donations are processed by Every.org, an independent third-party donation platform; we never receive or store your card or bank details. Contributions to Barks of Love Animal Rescue are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and no goods or services are provided in exchange for a gift unless we state otherwise in writing. Donations are applied to our charitable programs and general operations at the discretion of our board, consistent with any restriction you designate. Gifts are non-refundable except where required by law; if you made a duplicate or mistaken gift, contact us within thirty days and we will make it right.
6. Intellectual Property
All text, photographs, graphics, layout, and the Barks of Love Animal Rescue name and logo on this site are owned by us or used with permission from the photographer or rights holder. You may link to any page, and you may quote short excerpts with attribution for news, educational, or personal purposes. You may not republish our content in full, use our photographs or logo commercially, or imply our endorsement of a product, service, campaign, or organization without our prior written consent.
7. Third-Party Links and Services
We link to outside resources — including Every.org, Charity Navigator, Candid, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, partner shelters, and embedded maps — for your convenience and for transparency. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, availability, terms, or privacy practices. A link is not an endorsement of everything on the linked site.
8. No Veterinary or Legal Advice
Our education pages, rescue reports, and FAQ share general guidance drawn from experience. They are not a substitute for professional veterinary diagnosis or treatment, professional behavior consultation, or legal advice. If an animal is sick, injured, or in immediate danger, contact a licensed veterinarian, an emergency animal hospital, or your local animal control agency right away rather than waiting for a reply from us.
9. Accuracy and Availability
We work to keep animal listings, program descriptions, statistics, and clinic dates current, and we date our reports so you can see how recent they are. Even so, information on this site is provided "as is" and may occasionally be incomplete or out of date. We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free access, and we may modify or discontinue any part of the site at any time.
10. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Barks of Love Animal Rescue and its directors, officers, volunteers, and fosters are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of this website or from reliance on information published here. This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law. The terms of any adoption or foster relationship are governed by the separate written agreement you sign, which controls if it conflicts with anything on this page.
11. Privacy
Our handling of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms. It explains what we collect, why, who can see it, how long we keep it, and how to ask us to correct or delete it.
12. Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from your use of this site will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California. We would much rather resolve a concern by phone or email first — please contact us before pursuing formal action.
13. Changes to These Terms
We may revise these terms as our programs or legal obligations change. The revision date appears at the top of this page, and continued use of the site after a change is posted means you accept the updated terms.
14. Contact
Questions about these terms can be sent to info@boflar.org, phoned in to 714-282-1768, or mailed to Barks of Love Animal Rescue, PO Box 4156, Fullerton, CA 92834.