1. Introduction

PoCo West Animal Hospital (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who visits our website or contacts our clinic. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over your personal information.

This policy applies to our website at pocowestvets.ca and to all interactions with our clinic, including phone calls, text messages, online forms, and our online store. By using our website or services, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

We comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the Personal Information Protection Act of British Columbia (BC PIPA), Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and all applicable United States state consumer privacy laws to the extent they apply to residents of those states who interact with our website.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you interact with us. This may include:

• Your name, phone number, email address, and mailing address
• Information about your pet, including name, species, breed, age, and health history
• Appointment requests and service inquiries submitted through our website forms
• Messages, questions, or feedback submitted through our contact forms or chatbot
• New client registration information
• Product orders and shipping details submitted through our online store

Form submissions are sent directly to our team by email. We do not store form submission data in a website database.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies. This may include:

• Your IP address and general geographic location (city or region level)
• Browser type, device type, and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on each page, and navigation path through our site
• Referring website or search query that brought you to our site
• Date and time of your visit

This information is collected through a website analytics platform and tag management system that we use to understand how our website is used. It does not directly identify you by name unless you have also submitted a form.

2.3 Communication Platforms

When you contact us by phone, text message, or through our automated phone attendant or chatbot, we may collect:

• Your phone number and the content of the communication
• Call recordings and transcripts (see Section 7.2 for details)
• Automated messages sent and received
• Appointment reminders and responses

These communications are processed through third-party communication and scheduling platforms. See Section 6 for more information about our third-party service providers.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To schedule and manage appointments and follow-up care
• To respond to your questions and service inquiries
• To process orders placed through our online store
• To send appointment reminders, confirmations, and follow-up messages
• To improve our website performance and user experience
• To display relevant advertising to people who have previously visited our website (see Section 5.4)
• To operate our chatbot and automated phone attendant
• To comply with our legal obligations

We use your information only for the purposes described in this policy. We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your personal information to make automated decisions about your veterinary care.

4. SMS and Text Message Communications

With your consent, we may send you text messages for the following purposes:

• Appointment reminders and confirmations
• Responses to inquiries you have submitted through our website or by phone
• Follow-up communications related to your pet’s care

Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier and plan. Message frequency varies based on your interaction with our clinic.

To stop receiving text messages from us, reply STOP to any message we send. You may also opt out by contacting us directly by phone or email, or by any other reasonable method. We will process your opt-out request within ten (10) business days.

For help with text messaging, reply HELP to any message we send, or contact us at the information in Section 16.

We do not share your phone number or text message history with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

5.1 Types of Cookies We Use

We use the following categories of cookies on our website:

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are typically set in response to actions you take, such as setting your privacy preferences or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block these cookies, but some parts of the site may not function properly as a result.

Statistics Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and understand how visitors use our website, so we can improve its performance. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and anonymous. They include cookies set by our website analytics platform and search performance tools.

Marketing Cookies

These cookies are set through our website by our advertising partners. They may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertising on other websites. They work by uniquely identifying your browser and device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

5.2 Cookie Consent

When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner that allows you to choose which categories of cookies you accept. Essential cookies are always active. Statistics and Marketing cookies require your consent before they are activated.

You can update your cookie preferences at any time by accessing the cookie settings on our website. You may also control cookies through your browser settings. Note that some features of our website may not function as intended if certain cookies are disabled.

Our cookie consent infrastructure is configured and maintained by VSA Vet Media Inc. on our behalf.

5.3 Universal Opt-Out and Global Privacy Control (GPC)

We recognize the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal and Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms (UOOM) as valid opt-out requests under applicable law. If your browser or device sends a GPC signal when you visit our website, we will treat it as a request to opt out of the use of cookies and tracking technologies that require consent, to the extent required by applicable law.

Please note that GPC and UOOM recognition applies to the specific browser and device you use to send the signal. If you use multiple devices or browsers, you will need to enable GPC on each one separately.

5.4 Online Advertising and Remarketing

We use online advertising services to display advertisements for our clinic to people who have previously visited our website. This is known as remarketing or retargeting. Our advertising partners may place cookies on your device that allow them to recognize your browser when you visit other websites and display our ads.

We use these services only to reach people located within a local geographic radius near our clinic. We do not use these services for national or international audience targeting.

Our advertising partners may use information about your visits to our website, combined with other information they have collected about your browsing activity across other sites, to show you relevant ads.

You can opt out of interest-based advertising by visiting:

• Google Ads Settings: https://www.google.com/settings/ads
• Network Advertising Initiative opt-out: https://optout.networkadvertising.org/

Opting out will not remove all advertising you see online. It means that advertising shown to you will no longer be based on your browsing history.

If you are a resident of California or another US state with applicable consumer privacy laws, the sharing of your personal information with our advertising partners for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes may constitute “sharing” under those laws. You may exercise your right to opt out of this sharing by using the opt-out links above, enabling the GPC signal in your browser, or contacting us directly using the information in Section 16.

6. Third-Party Services

We work with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and delivering our services. These providers act as service providers and are contractually required to use your personal information only to provide services to us, not for their own purposes.

The functional categories of third-party providers we use include:

• Online appointment and form providers: receive appointment requests and contact form submissions from our website
• Communication and scheduling platforms: facilitate appointment reminders, text messaging, phone calls, call recording, and automated communications
• Website analytics platforms: collect anonymized information about how visitors use our website
• Website hosting providers: store and serve our website files
• Online advertising platforms: deliver remarketing ads to past website visitors within our local service area
• Social media platforms: may receive information through advertising tools if you visit our website and have an account with those platforms
• Online store providers: process product orders, payment, and shipping for purchases made through our online store

We do not share your personal information with these providers beyond what is necessary for them to perform their functions. We do not authorize them to use your information for their own independent marketing purposes.

7. AI-Assisted Tools

7.1 No Medical Decisions by AI

No AI tools used by our clinic are used to make or assist in making veterinary medical decisions. All clinical decisions regarding your pet’s care are made by licensed veterinary professionals.

7.2 Call Recording

We record telephone calls to our clinic for quality assurance, staff training, and service improvement purposes. Calls may also be processed by AI tools that generate transcripts and categorize call content.

By calling our clinic, you consent to the recording and processing of your call in accordance with this policy and all applicable laws. If you do not wish to have your call recorded, please inform us at the beginning of the call and we will make reasonable accommodations where possible.

7.3 Automated Communications

We use automated tools to send appointment reminders, confirmations, and follow-up messages. These messages are triggered by appointment activity in our scheduling system. Responses you send to automated messages are reviewed by our team.

7.4 AI Interaction Disclosure

Our website and phone system may use AI-powered tools including a chatbot and an interactive voice response (IVR) system. These tools are designed to answer common questions and help route inquiries to the appropriate team members. If you interact with an AI-powered tool, you are interacting with an automated system, not a human staff member.

Interactions with our AI-powered tools may be logged and reviewed by our team for quality improvement purposes. All AI tool use is conducted in compliance with applicable law.

7.5 Your Rights Regarding AI-Processed Data

You have the right to request access to information about how your personal information has been processed by AI tools we use, and to request correction or deletion of that information, subject to legal retention requirements. See Section 9 for how to exercise your privacy rights.

8. Data Protection and Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our website uses SSL encryption for data transmitted between your browser and our server.

Despite these measures, no method of data transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information. We encourage you to use strong, unique passwords and to contact us promptly if you believe your personal information has been compromised.

8.1 Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach involving your personal information, we will notify you and any applicable regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and the laws that apply to you, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to correction: request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to deletion: request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal obligations that require us to retain certain records
• Right to withdraw consent: withdraw consent you have previously given for specific processing activities
• Right to data portability: request that your personal information be provided in a portable format where technically feasible
• Right to object: object to certain processing of your personal information
• Right to opt out of sharing for advertising purposes: opt out of the sharing of your personal information with advertising partners for cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in Section 5.4

Under PIPEDA and BC PIPA, you have the right to access and correct personal information we hold about you and to challenge our compliance with applicable privacy legislation.

Residents of US states with applicable consumer privacy laws may also have rights under those laws, including the right to know, the right to delete, and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We will respond to verified requests within the timeframe required by the applicable state statute.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 16. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

10. Sharing of Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share your personal information only in the following circumstances:

• With third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, as described in Section 6
• With advertising partners for the purpose of displaying relevant advertising, as described in Section 5.4
• When required to do so by law, court order, or regulatory authority
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of our clinic, our staff, or the public, where permitted by law
• In connection with a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections

We require all third parties with whom we share personal information to handle that information in accordance with applicable privacy law and their contractual obligations to us.

11. Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately using the information in Section 16, and we will take steps to delete that information.

12. Links to External Websites

Our website may contain links to external websites, including third-party booking platforms, pet health resources, and social media profiles. When you click on a link to an external website, you leave our site and your activity on that external site is governed by that site’s own privacy policy.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any external site you visit.

Our clinic maintains profiles on social media platforms. Information you share on those platforms, including comments, messages, and interactions with our profiles, is subject to the privacy policies of those platforms. We are not responsible for how those platforms collect, use, or share your information. Any actions you take on our social media profiles are also subject to the terms and privacy policies of the respective platform provider.

13. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements.

Call recordings and transcripts are retained for a reasonable period consistent with their purpose and applicable law. When personal information is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymize it.

You may request deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to legal obligations that may require us to retain certain records. See Section 9 for how to make a deletion request.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes to this policy, we will update the effective date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of our website after any changes have been posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Website Design and Management

Our website is designed and maintained by VSA Vet Media Inc., a veterinary digital marketing agency. VSA Vet Media Inc. acts as a service provider to our clinic and processes personal information on our behalf in connection with the operation and maintenance of our website.

VSA Vet Media Inc. does not use the personal information it processes on our behalf for its own independent purposes. All data processing by VSA Vet Media Inc. in connection with our website is governed by a service agreement between our clinic and VSA Vet Media Inc. that includes appropriate data protection obligations.

Under PIPEDA and applicable Canadian privacy legislation, VSA Vet Media Inc. is classified as an agent or service provider acting on our behalf. Under applicable US state consumer privacy laws, VSA Vet Media Inc. is classified as a service provider.

16. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Clinic Name	PoCo West Animal Hospital
Address	108 – 2748 Lougheed Hwy, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia V3B 6P2, Canada
Phone	(604) 554-1255
Email	info@pocowestvets.ca
Website	pocowestvets.ca

You may submit a privacy request, access request, or correction request by contacting us at the email or phone number above. We will acknowledge your request and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

If you are a resident of British Columbia and are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you have the right to contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (OIPC BC) at www.oipc.bc.ca.