1. Introduction
McCurdy Animal Hospital (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates at 948 McCurdy Rd #140, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1X 2P7. We are committed to protecting the privacy of every person who visits our website, contacts our clinic, or uses our services.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and protect it, and the rights available to you under applicable privacy law, including the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and all applicable US state consumer privacy laws to the extent they apply to our visitors.
By using our website at mahvet.ca or contacting our clinic, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or services.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
We collect information you provide when you:
- Submit an appointment request or contact form on our website
- Register as a new client
- Call or text our clinic
- Communicate with us by email
- Make a purchase through our online store
- Respond to a survey, promotion, or other communication
This information may include your name, mailing or billing address, email address, phone number, pet information, payment information, and any other details you choose to share with us. Form submissions are delivered to our team by email and are not stored in a website database.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically through cookies, tags, and similar technologies, including:
- IP address and approximate geographic location
- Browser type, device type, and operating system
- Pages visited, time spent on pages, and links clicked
- Referring website or search query that brought you to our site
- Session identifiers and analytics data
This data is collected through our website analytics platform and tag management system, which are configured and managed by VSA Vet Media Inc. on our behalf. See Section 5 for details on cookies and how to manage your preferences.
2.3 Communication Platforms
When you contact us by phone, text, or through our automated attendant or chatbot, we may collect call recordings, transcriptions, communication logs, and related metadata. We use third-party communication and scheduling platforms to manage appointments, send reminders, and respond to inquiries. These platforms process data as described in Section 6.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Schedule and manage appointments for your pets
- Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
- Process purchases through our online store and manage order fulfillment
- Send appointment reminders, follow-up communications, and service notifications
- Send promotional and informational messages where you have consented under CASL
- Operate and improve our website, including analyzing traffic and user behavior
- Display relevant advertising to users who have previously visited our website, where you have consented to marketing cookies
- Comply with our legal obligations and protect the safety and security of our clinic and website
- Conduct internal quality assurance, including call review and service improvement
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
4. SMS and Text Message Communications
By providing your mobile phone number to McCurdy Animal Hospital, you consent to receive text messages from us related to your appointments, clinic updates, and service notifications. If you have also opted in to marketing communications, we may send promotional messages.
Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.
To opt out of text messages at any time, reply STOP to any message or contact us by any reasonable method. To request help, reply HELP or contact us at (778) 484-9446 or info@mahvet.ca. We will process opt-out requests within 10 business days.
We do not share your mobile number with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
5.1 Types of Cookies We Use
Our website uses the following categories of cookies, which correspond exactly to the categories presented in our consent banner:
Essential Cookies (always active): Required for the website to function. These cookies enable core features such as security, accessibility, and page navigation. They cannot be disabled.
Statistics Cookies (opt-in): These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting anonymous information. They are used through our website analytics and tag management platform.
Marketing Cookies (opt-in): These cookies are used to display relevant advertising to visitors who have previously visited our website. They are set by our online advertising and social media advertising platforms.
5.2 Cookie Consent
When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a consent banner allowing you to accept or decline optional cookie categories. Essential cookies are always active. Statistics and Marketing cookies are set only after you provide consent.
You can update or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time by accessing the cookie settings on our website. You may also control cookies through your browser settings, but doing so may affect website functionality.
5.3 Global Privacy Control and Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms
Our website recognizes Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals and Universal Opt-Out Mechanism (UOOM) signals transmitted by your browser. When we detect a valid GPC or UOOM signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of the use of Statistics and Marketing cookies for that browsing session, consistent with applicable privacy law.
5.4 Online Advertising and Remarketing
We use online advertising services to display ads to users who have previously visited our website. This is known as remarketing or retargeting. These services may use Marketing cookies to identify your browser across different websites and serve relevant advertisements.
Remarketing is active only for users who have consented to Marketing cookies through our consent banner or whose browser does not transmit an opt-out signal.
We work with both search advertising platforms and social media advertising platforms for this purpose. We advertise to audiences within a local geographic radius only. We do not engage in national or international advertising targeting.
To opt out of interest-based advertising:
- Google Ads Settings: google.com/settings/ads
- Network Advertising Initiative opt-out: networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
6. Third-Party Services
We work with third-party service providers to operate our website and deliver our services. We share your information with these providers only as necessary for them to perform services on our behalf. All third-party providers are required to protect your information and are prohibited from using it for their own purposes.
Third-party service providers we use fall into the following functional categories:
- Online form and appointment request providers: receive form submissions and appointment requests made through our website
- Communication and scheduling platforms: manage phone calls, text messages, appointment reminders, and automated communications
- Website analytics platforms: collect and report anonymous data about website traffic and visitor behavior
- Website hosting providers: host and serve our website and its content
- Online store providers: process orders, payments, and product fulfillment through our website store
- Online advertising platforms: deliver and manage search and social media advertising campaigns on our behalf
VSA Vet Media Inc. is identified as a service provider under applicable privacy law for the purposes of website design, development, maintenance, analytics configuration, and advertising management. See Section 15.
7. AI-Assisted Tools
7.1 No AI Use for Medical Decisions
No artificial intelligence tool is used to make medical decisions about your pet. All clinical recommendations, assessments, and care decisions are made exclusively by licensed veterinary professionals at McCurdy Animal Hospital.
7.2 Call Recording
Calls to and from McCurdy Animal Hospital may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. By calling our clinic, you consent to the recording of the call. If you do not wish to have your call recorded, please let our team know at the beginning of the call.
British Columbia does not require all-party consent for call recording where at least one party to the call consents. Recording is conducted in compliance with applicable federal and provincial law.
7.3 Automated Communications
We use AI-assisted tools to support appointment reminders, follow-up messages, and other automated communications. These tools may use information such as your name, appointment date, and contact details to generate personalized messages. All automated communications are reviewed or supervised by our team.
7.4 AI Interaction Disclosure
Our website and phone system may include an automated chat or phone attendant powered by AI. If you interact with one of these tools, you may be communicating with an automated system rather than a human team member. We disclose the use of these tools in compliance with applicable law. A human team member is always available during business hours.
7.5 Your Rights Regarding AI
You may request that a human team member handle your inquiry at any time. Contact us at (778) 484-9446 or info@mahvet.ca and we will ensure your request is addressed by a person.
8. Data Protection and Security
We implement reasonable physical, technical, and administrative safeguards designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include SSL/TLS encryption on our website, access controls, and secure data handling practices with our third-party service providers.
No method of data transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to protecting your information using industry-standard practices.
8.1 Data Breach Notification
In the event of a breach of security 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 applicable privacy law, you may have 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 inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected
- Right to deletion: request that your personal information be deleted, subject to our legal and operational retention obligations
- Right to withdraw consent: withdraw consent for optional uses of your information, including marketing communications and optional cookies
- Right to opt out of sharing: opt out of the sharing or use of your information for cross-context behavioral advertising, where applicable under applicable US state consumer privacy laws
- Right to data portability: request your information in a portable format where technically feasible
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@mahvet.ca or (778) 484-9446. We will respond within the timeframe required by the applicable statute. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
If you are a resident of a US state with a consumer privacy law, you may also submit a request through our Do Not Sell or Share link in the footer of our website.
10. Sharing of Information
We share personal information only in the following circumstances:
- With our third-party service providers as described in Section 6, solely to provide services on our behalf
- With VSA Vet Media Inc. as our website and marketing services provider, as described in Section 15
- Where required by law, court order, or regulatory authority
- To protect the rights, safety, or property of McCurdy Animal Hospital, our clients, or the public
- In connection with a business transfer, merger, or acquisition, in which case we will notify affected individuals
We share information with our online advertising platforms for the purpose of displaying relevant advertising to users who have consented to Marketing cookies. This sharing constitutes “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes under applicable US state consumer privacy laws. You may opt out as described in Section 5.4 and Section 9.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.
11. Children’s Privacy
Our website and services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe that a child under 13 has provided personal information to us, please contact us at info@mahvet.ca and we will take steps to delete it promptly.
12. Links to External Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites, including pet health resources, government agencies, and third-party service providers. These websites operate independently and have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website you visit.
Meta/Facebook Disclaimer: Our website and social media presence may include links to or integrations with Facebook and Instagram, which are operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. McCurdy Animal Hospital is not responsible for the data collection or privacy practices of Meta. Meta’s Privacy Policy governs all data collected through Meta’s platforms and tools. If you have concerns about how Meta handles your information, please review Meta’s Privacy Policy at meta.com/privacy/policy.
13. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, to comply with our legal obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. The specific retention period for any category of information depends on the nature of the information and the purpose for which it was collected.
When personal information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it securely.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or the services we offer. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this policy and, where appropriate, notify you by email or through a notice on our website.
Your continued use of our website or services after a change becomes effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
15. Website Design and Management
The McCurdy Animal Hospital website is designed, developed, and maintained by VSA Vet Media Inc. (“VSA”), a veterinary-focused digital marketing agency based in Vancouver, British Columbia. VSA acts as a service provider to McCurdy Animal Hospital for website development, hosting coordination, analytics configuration, cookie consent infrastructure, and digital marketing services.
VSA Vet Media Inc. is identified as a service provider under PIPEDA, the BC Personal Information Protection Act, and applicable US state consumer privacy laws. VSA processes personal information only on behalf of McCurdy Animal Hospital and in accordance with our instructions. VSA is prohibited from using your information for its own purposes.
For questions about this policy or VSA’s role as our service provider, contact us at info@mahvet.ca.
16. Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us:
McCurdy Animal Hospital
948 McCurdy Rd #140, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1X 2P7, Canada
Phone: (778) 484-9446
Email: info@mahvet.ca
Website: mahvet.ca
We will acknowledge your request promptly and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.