Community guidelines

Part of our terms of use, version 2026-10-26.1 · Last updated 26 October 2026

Goose is a place to cheer on rescue dogs and the people who care for them. Comments are how you join in. These guidelines keep it kind and safe. They apply to everything you write on Goose, including your name and profile photo.

Be kind

• Say something encouraging, ask a question, or share a happy memory.
• Disagree politely. Criticise ideas, not people.
• Rescue staff and volunteers work hard. Treat them with respect, even if you would do things differently.

Keep it about the dogs

• Stay on topic for the post.
• No adverts, selling, fundraising for other causes, or chain messages.
• Comments can't include links. This keeps out spam and scams.

Respect privacy

• Don't share anyone's address, phone number, e-mail, workplace or other private details.
• Don't try to work out where a foster carer or adopter lives, or ask for it.
• Don't ask anyone for their age, phone number or social media, or ask them to talk somewhere else. Goose has no private messages, on purpose.
• Don't post photos or details of other people without their permission. (Only rescues post photos on Goose. Your profile photo should be you, your pet, or something that isn't a person.)

Don't make claims that aren't yours to make

• The rescue is the only source of facts about a dog's health, behaviour and care.
• Don't post rumours or claims about a dog's welfare, medical condition or history.
• If you are worried about a dog's welfare, report it (see below). Don't accuse anyone in a comment.

Never post anything illegal or harmful

This includes:

• threats, harassment, bullying or stalking;
• hate against anyone because of race, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other part of who they are;
• content that encourages animal cruelty, or shows it for entertainment;
• sexual content of any kind, and anything that sexualises a child;
• intimate images of anyone shared without their consent (we remove reported images within 48 hours);
• support for terrorism or for a banned (proscribed) organisation;
• scams, fraud, or pretending to be someone else (including a rescue or Goose staff);
• encouraging self-harm or suicide;
• content that breaks someone else's copyright or other rights.

A few slurs are blocked automatically. That doesn't mean everything else is allowed.

If you see something wrong

• Report it. Use the flag on a post or "Report" under a comment and choose a reason. Choose "Illegal content" for threats, hate, animal cruelty or anything else that breaks the law.
• Worried about a child? Choose "Child safety", for example if someone seems to be under 18 or an adult is trying to get in touch with a child. Young people can talk to Childline for free on 0800 1111.
• No account? Use our reporting page or e-mail hello@ourgoose.com with the link.
• Block someone whose comments you don't want to see. They are not told.
• If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. If you think an animal is being treated cruelly, you can also contact the RSPCA (England and Wales), the Scottish SPCA (Scotland) or your local council (Northern Ireland).

What we do

• A person reviews every report. We aim to look at reports of illegal content within 24 hours, and other reports within 2 working days.
• A rescue can hide comments on its own posts, or turn comments off on a post.
• Goose can remove a comment or a post, and can suspend an account. We usually suspend straight away for illegal content, threats or scams. For smaller problems we may remove the comment first.
• We tell you when we remove your comment or suspend your account, and why.
• Where the law requires it, or someone may be at risk, we may pass information to the police or other authorities.

If you think we got it wrong

E-mail hello@ourgoose.com. A person at Goose will look at the decision again. Our reports, complaints and appeals page explains how.