Goose

Best Friend membership terms

Version 2026-10-26.1 · Last updated 26 October 2026

A permanent copy of this version stays at /terms/membership/2026-10-26.1. You can save or print this page at any time.

The short version

These short points are part of the terms. The full terms below explain each one.

1. About these terms

1.1 Who we are. Goose is run by [Company name], a company registered in [England and Wales] (company number [Company number]). Our registered office is [Registered office address]. You can contact us by e-mail at hello@ourgoose.com or by post at [Registered office address].

1.2 What these terms cover. These terms apply when you become a Best Friend of a dog on Goose (on our website, ourgoose.com). Our website terms also apply, because a membership is part of your Goose account. If the two ever disagree about a membership, these terms win.

1.3 Who can become a Best Friend. You must be 18 or over, have a Goose account and live in the UK. A membership is for your own personal use, not for a business.

1.4 Language and copies. These terms are in English only. Each version is kept on our website with its version number, and we e-mail you a link to the version you agreed to when your membership starts. You can save or print them at any time.

2. What a Best Friend membership is

2.1 A Best Friend membership is a monthly membership for one named rescue dog on Goose. You can be a Best Friend of several dogs. Each dog is its own membership, but they are all paid for together, in one monthly payment (section 4).

2.2 It is not a donation. You are paying for a membership with the benefits in section 3. It is not a charitable donation, and Gift Aid does not apply.

2.3 It is not ownership. A membership does not make you the dog's owner or sponsor in any legal sense. It gives you no right to visit, contact, look after, foster or adopt the dog, and no say in the dog's care. Best Friends get no priority to adopt.

2.4 The rescue is in charge of the dog. The rescue makes every welfare, veterinary, training and adoption decision. Follower and Best Friend numbers never affect a dog's care.

2.5 Who publishes what. Posts, photos, videos and facts about the dog are published by the rescue, using facts its own staff have checked. Goose does not write or change what the rescue says about a dog.

3. What you get

3.1 While your membership for a dog is active, you get:

3.2 What is not included. The rescue does not owe you personal messages, a number of posts, calls, gifts, live cameras or any work just for you. Your benefits come from what the rescue already shares. How often it posts is up to the rescue.

3.3 After a membership ends. Your Memories stay. As long as Goose runs, you can still see the dog's published story in your scrapbook and Memories, including after an adoption and if the rescue later leaves Goose. Best Friends-only posts are for current Best Friends, and for Best Friends who were supporting the dog when it was adopted. A post can still be removed for privacy or safety reasons, and your own comments go if you delete your account.

3.4 How we provide it. You use your membership on our website, and in our iPhone app where the app shows it. You need an internet connection and an up-to-date web browser. We provide the service with reasonable care and skill.

4. Price and payment

4.1 The price. A Best Friend membership costs £9.99 a month per dog. We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged. There are no other charges. We show the full amount before you pay.

4.2 One monthly payment. All your Best Friend memberships are paid together, by card, in one monthly payment on the same date each month. The total is £9.99 for each dog you support (for example, £19.98 a month for two dogs), less any discount we told you about before you paid. Your Best Friends page shows the dogs on your payment, the next amount and the date.

4.3 Your first dog. You pay the first month when you join. Your payment then renews on the same day each month.

4.4 Adding another dog. Before you confirm, we show you what you will pay today and your new monthly total. Today's amount covers the rest of your current billing month for the new dog. The dog is added only once that payment goes through. If your bank asks you to approve the payment, the dog is added once you do.

4.5 Discounts. If we offer you a discount (for example to Founding Best Friends), we tell you how much it is and how long it lasts before you pay. Your receipt shows it.

4.6 Payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card details. Stripe e-mails you a receipt for each payment. You can update your card and see your invoices from your Best Friends page ("Card and invoices").

5. Starting, renewing and reminders

5.1 How you join. On the dog's Best Friend page you see the price, how renewal works, how to stop, your right to cancel within 14 days and, where it applies, the rescue's charity statement. You tick two boxes: one to agree to these terms, and one to ask us to start your membership straight away. You then pay on Stripe's secure page. You can go back and change anything before you pay.

5.2 When the contract starts. Your contract for a dog's membership starts when your payment for that dog goes through. Your benefits start straight away, because you asked us to start within the 14-day cancellation period. This does not affect your right to cancel (section 7).

5.3 Confirmation. We e-mail you a confirmation with the dog's name, the price, the start date, your next payment date, how to stop, your right to cancel, the cancellation form and a link to these terms.

5.4 Renewal and reminders. Your membership renews every month until you stop it. There is no minimum term. Every six months, before a renewal payment, we e-mail you a reminder of the dogs you support, what your next payment will be and how to stop.

6. Where the money goes

6.1 Part of every membership goes to the rescue caring for the dog. It goes to the rescue as a whole, never to one dog, so popularity never decides which dog is helped.

6.2 How the rescue's share is worked out. The rescue receives a share of our defined net membership revenue: what remains of the membership payments after VAT (if charged), card processing fees, refunds and chargebacks. The share is set in our signed agreement with that rescue. We work it out each month for each dog's membership. Until a person at Goose has checked a month's figures, they are shown as estimated. We pay rescues ourselves; nothing is automatic. Our How it works page shows a worked example.

6.3 What we tell you about the rescue's share. Rescues are charities or other organisations set up for charitable or benevolent purposes, so we act as a "commercial participator" under charity fundraising law. Before you pay, and in your confirmation e-mail, we show you a statement with the rescue's name (and charity number, if it has one), how much of your payment it receives (an estimate, worked out as section 6.2 explains) and that Goose keeps the rest for running the membership. The statement is copied from our signed agreement with the rescue. If we don't have a signed agreement and statement for a rescue, its dogs are not open to new Best Friends.

6.4 If the dog moves. If the dog moves to another partner rescue, your membership carries on unchanged, and the rescue's share for later months goes to the rescue caring for the dog. We will tell you. If the new rescue is a charity, we send you its statement before your next payment, and you can stop before then.

7. Your right to cancel within 14 days

7.1 Your right. You have the right to cancel a dog's membership within 14 days without giving any reason. The 14 days end 14 days after the day your membership for that dog started. For example, if you join on 1 March, you can cancel until the end of 15 March.

7.2 Every dog has its own 14 days. A dog you add to your payment later has its own 14 days from the day it was added. A dog you choose after an adoption (section 9) has its own 14 days from the day you choose it.

7.3 You get all your money back. If you cancel within the 14 days, we refund everything you paid for that dog's membership, even though it started straight away. We do not deduct anything for the days you used. (The law would let us keep an amount for those days; we choose not to.)

7.4 How to cancel. Tell us clearly that you want to cancel, before the 14 days end. You can:

It is enough to send your message before the 14 days end. We confirm by e-mail that we have received it.

7.5 What happens next. We take the dog off your monthly payment straight away, and its benefits end. We refund you within 14 days of the day you told us, to the card you paid with, at no cost to you. Your bank may take a few more days to show it.

7.6 Stopping or deleting your account within 14 days. If you choose "Stop supporting" or delete your account within a dog's 14 days, you keep your right to a full refund for that dog. E-mail us within the 14 days to ask for it.

8. Stopping your membership at any time

8.1 Stop any time. Choose "Stop supporting" next to a dog on your Best Friends page. That dog comes off your next payment straight away. You keep the dog's benefits until the end of the period you have already paid for, and nothing more is charged for that dog.

8.2 No refund for the rest of the month. After the 14 days in section 7, stopping does not give you a refund or credit for the rest of the month you have already paid for.

8.3 Changing your mind. Until that date, you can choose "Keep supporting" and the dog goes back on your payment. Nothing extra is charged.

8.4 Your last dog. Stopping your last dog ends your monthly payment at the end of the period you have paid for.

8.5 Deleting your account ends all your payments at once. Nothing more is charged. After the 14 days, the rest of the current month is not refunded (the deletion form says so).

8.6 You can also stop by e-mailing hello@ourgoose.com. We will do it for you and confirm by e-mail.

9. When the dog finds a home

9.1 If the dog you support is adopted, your membership never moves to another dog on its own, and adoption never causes a charge.

9.2 The period you have already paid for stays as it is. It is not refunded, because your membership runs to its end (including the adoption news and your scrapbook).

9.3 Choosing your next dog. We ask you whether you would like to support another dog. If you choose one, we show you the new dog's rescue (and its charity statement, if it has one) and you tick the same two boxes. Your membership then carries over to the new dog from your next payment date, with nothing extra charged that day. If your payment had already ended, you join through checkout as in section 5.

9.4 If you don't choose. Your membership ends when the period you have paid for runs out, and nothing more is charged.

9.5 If the adoption doesn't work out. If the dog comes back to the rescue while your membership has not ended, your membership carries on for that dog, and we tell you.

10. If a payment fails

10.1 If a monthly payment fails, Stripe tries again over the next [number] days, and we e-mail you once. Your benefits continue in that time. Updating your card on your Best Friends page fixes it straight away.

10.2 If the payment still cannot be taken, the memberships on that payment end, and nothing more is charged. You can join again at any time.

10.3 Please contact us before you ask your bank to reverse a payment (a chargeback). We can usually sort it out, and refund you if we got something wrong.

11. Changes to the price, the membership or these terms

11.1 Price changes. We may change the monthly price, for example because our costs change or VAT changes. We will e-mail you at least 30 days before your first payment at the new price. You can stop before then, and you will not pay the new price.

11.2 Other changes. We may change these terms or the membership for good reasons: to reflect a change in the law, to improve the service, to fix a security problem, or because a feature is withdrawn. If a change makes the membership or these terms worse for you, we will tell you at least 30 days before it applies, and you can stop before then. If we need to make an urgent change for legal or security reasons, we will tell you as soon as we can, and if it makes the membership worse for you, you can stop and we will refund the unused days of your current month.

11.3 Small changes that don't affect you (such as clearer wording or our contact details) can take effect straight away. Every version of these terms stays available on our website.

12. If we end your membership

12.1 The dog can no longer take Best Friends. If the rescue leaves Goose or the dog's profile is removed, we will tell you. The dog comes off your payment, and nothing more is charged for it. We refund the unused days of your current month, or, if you prefer, you can choose another dog to carry your membership over to, as in section 9.3.

12.2 You break the rules. If you seriously or repeatedly break these terms or our website terms (for example by posting illegal content or abusing other people), we may suspend or close your account. Your memberships then end straight away, nothing more is charged, and we refund the unused days of your current month. We tell you why, and you can appeal (see our complaints page).

12.3 Goose stops offering memberships. We can stop offering Best Friend memberships, or close Goose, by giving you at least 30 days' notice by e-mail. We refund any payment for a period after the date the memberships end.

13. Our responsibility to you

13.1 Your legal rights. You have legal rights about services and digital content, for example that we use reasonable care and skill and that the service is as described. Nothing in these terms affects those rights. Citizens Advice can tell you more (citizensadvice.org.uk, or 0808 223 1133).

13.2 If something goes wrong. If we fail to provide your membership as these terms promise, tell us. We will try to put it right. If we can't, you may be entitled to a refund of some or all of what you paid for the affected period.

13.3 What we are responsible for. We are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care and skill. Loss is foreseeable if it is obvious it will happen, or if we both knew it might happen when you joined. We are not responsible for loss that is not foreseeable.

13.4 What we never exclude. We do not exclude or limit our liability where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

13.5 Personal use only. The membership is for personal use. We are not responsible to you for any loss of profit, business or business opportunity.

13.6 The rescue's own decisions. The rescue is an independent organisation. It decides how to care for the dog and what to publish. We check rescues before they join, but we are not responsible for the rescue's care of the dog or its adoption decisions.

13.7 If Goose is unavailable. We aim to keep Goose running at all times, but it may sometimes be unavailable for maintenance or for reasons outside our control. If you cannot use your benefits for a long time, tell us and we will put it right, or refund you for that time.

14. Your personal data

We use your personal data as our privacy notice explains. Rescues never see who their Best Friends are, only how many there are.

15. Complaints

15.1 If you are unhappy, please e-mail hello@ourgoose.com, or write to us at [Registered office address]. A person at Goose reads every complaint. We aim to reply within 14 days.

15.2 If we can't settle your complaint, we will tell you in writing, and tell you whether an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme is available and whether we will use it. You can also get help from the Citizens Advice consumer service and, if needed, go to court.

16. Other important terms

16.1 Transferring this agreement. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation, for example if Goose is sold. We will tell you, and your rights will not be reduced. If you are unhappy with the transfer, you can stop your membership and we will refund the unused days of your current month. You may not transfer your membership to someone else.

16.2 Nobody else has rights under these terms. This agreement is between you and us. The rescue is not a party to it, and no one else can enforce it.

16.3 If part of these terms is not valid, the rest still applies.

16.4 If we don't enforce a term straight away, we can still enforce it later.

16.5 Which law applies. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. You can bring legal proceedings in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland, you can also bring them in Scotland, and if you live in Northern Ireland, you can also bring them in Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you keep any protection the law of your home nation gives you.

Appendix A: Model cancellation form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.

To [Company name], [Registered office address], hello@ourgoose.com:

I/We [*] hereby give notice that I/We [*] cancel my/our [*] contract of sale of the following goods [*]/for the supply of the following service [*],

Ordered on [*]/received on [*],

Name of consumer(s),

Address of consumer(s),

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),

Date

[*] Delete as appropriate.

To help us find your membership quickly, please also tell us the dog's name and the e-mail address of your Goose account.