1. Introduction
Apollo Animal Hospital (“we,” “our,” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of our clients and website visitors. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our website at apollovetsinsurrey.com or interact with our practice.
This policy applies to all personal information collected through our website, phone calls, text messages, online forms, and in-person visits to our clinic located at 17525 56 Ave, Surrey, BC V3S 1C4, Canada.
By using our website or services, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this policy, please do not access or use our website.
We comply with 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 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 to us, including:
• Your name, address, phone number, and email address
• Pet information, including your pet’s name, species, breed, age, and health history
• Appointment requests and scheduling preferences
• Online form submissions, including contact forms, registration forms, and boarding authorization forms
• Online store purchases, including billing and shipping information
• Communications you send us by email, phone, text message, or through our website
Form submissions made through our website are transmitted to us 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, tracking technologies, and analytics tools, including:
• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version, operating system, and device type
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths
• Referring website or search engine
• Date and time of your visit
This information is collected to understand how visitors use our website, to improve our services, and to measure the effectiveness of our marketing activities.
2.3 Communication Platforms
We use third-party communication and scheduling platforms to manage appointments, send reminders, and communicate with clients. These platforms may collect and process information such as your name, phone number, email address, and appointment details on our behalf. All such platforms are bound by applicable privacy and data protection obligations.
Our phone calls may be recorded for quality assurance, staff training, and service improvement purposes. If you call our clinic, you may be notified of call recording at the start of the call. Please see Section 7.2 for additional details regarding call recording.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
• To schedule, confirm, and manage appointments for your pet
• To provide veterinary care and services to your pet
• To communicate with you regarding your pet’s health, follow-up care, and reminders
• To process online store purchases and fulfill orders
• To send appointment reminders, service updates, and other communications you have requested or consented to receive
• To respond to your inquiries and requests submitted through our website or by phone
• To improve our website, services, and client experience
• To measure and analyze the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns
• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and professional obligations
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, security incidents, and technical issues
We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own commercial purposes.
4. SMS and Text Message Communications
With your consent, we may send you text messages (SMS) for the following purposes:
• Appointment reminders and confirmations
• Follow-up care reminders
• Service updates and notifications relevant to your pet’s care
Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary based on your interactions with our clinic.
You may opt out of receiving text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message we send you. You may reply HELP for assistance or contact us by any reasonable method. Opt-out requests will be processed within 10 business days.
We comply with all applicable requirements under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and applicable telecommunications regulations regarding commercial electronic messages.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
5.1 Types of Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. Cookies are small data files placed on your device that help us provide a better website experience and understand how visitors interact with our site. We use the following categories of cookies:
Essential Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies cannot be disabled without affecting website functionality.
Statistics Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This helps us improve our website and the experience we provide to visitors. Statistics cookies are opt-in.
Marketing Cookies
These cookies are used to track visitors across websites and are set by our advertising partners. They allow us to display relevant advertisements to visitors who have previously visited our website, and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Marketing cookies are opt-in.
5.2 Cookie Consent
When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner allowing you to accept or decline non-essential cookies. The cookie consent infrastructure on our website has been configured by VSA Vet Media Inc. on our behalf. You may update your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the cookie settings option on our website.
If you decline non-essential cookies, only Essential cookies will be active. Statistics and Marketing cookies will not be set unless you provide your consent.
5.3 Universal Opt-Out Mechanism (UOOM) and Global Privacy Control (GPC)
We recognize browser-based opt-out signals, including the Global Privacy Control (GPC) and similar Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms (UOOM). If your browser transmits a GPC signal when you visit our website, we will treat that signal as a request to opt out of the use of cookies and tracking technologies for advertising and analytics purposes, to the extent required by applicable law.
5.4 Online Advertising and Remarketing
We use online advertising services, including search advertising and social media advertising, to promote our veterinary services to potential and existing clients. As part of these advertising activities:
• We may use remarketing features that allow us to show advertisements to visitors who have previously visited our website when they visit other websites or platforms.
• Our advertising partners may place Marketing cookies on your device to enable these features.
• We may share certain non-identifying information about your visit with our advertising partners for the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of our campaigns and delivering relevant advertisements.
• We disclose that data used for advertising purposes may constitute “sharing” of personal information under applicable US state consumer privacy laws. Residents of applicable US states may exercise their right to opt out of such sharing as described in Section 9.
We engage in local-radius advertising only. We do not conduct national or international advertising targeting.
You may opt out of interest-based advertising at any time using the following tools:
Google Ads Settings: google.com/settings/ads
Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out: networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
Please note that opting out of interest-based advertising does not mean you will stop seeing advertisements. You may continue to see generic, non-targeted advertisements.
6. Third-Party Services
We work with third-party service providers to operate our website and deliver our services. These providers access personal information only as necessary to perform services on our behalf and are bound by contractual obligations consistent with applicable privacy law. We do not authorize our service providers to use your information for their own purposes.
Our third-party service providers fall into the following functional categories:
• Website analytics platforms — to track website traffic, user behavior, and performance metrics
• Website hosting providers — to host and serve our website and its content
• Online form and appointment request providers — to collect and transmit service inquiries and appointment requests
• Communication and scheduling platforms — to send appointment reminders, text messages, and client communications
• Online store providers — to process product purchases and manage order fulfillment
• Advertising platforms — to deliver and measure online advertising campaigns
• VSA Vet Media Inc. — our digital marketing agency and website management provider (see Section 15)
We do not disclose the specific names of our third-party service providers. Providers are selected on the basis of their compliance with applicable privacy and security standards.
7. AI-Assisted Tools
7.1 No Medical Decisions by AI
Artificial intelligence tools used by Apollo Animal Hospital are limited to administrative and communication functions. No AI tool is used to make, recommend, or influence medical or clinical decisions regarding your pet’s care. All veterinary assessments, diagnoses, and care decisions are made by our licensed veterinary professionals.
7.2 Call Recording
Telephone calls to and from our clinic may be recorded. Recordings are used for quality assurance, staff training, service improvement, and to maintain accurate records of client communications. Calls may also be transcribed using automated transcription tools. By calling our clinic, you acknowledge that your call may be recorded and transcribed.
7.3 Automated Communications
We use automated communication tools to send appointment reminders, follow-up notifications, and other service-related messages. These tools may operate using AI-assisted features such as message scheduling and content suggestions. All automated communications are initiated on our behalf and subject to our review and control.
7.4 AI Interaction Disclosure
Our website or phone system may include AI-assisted features such as chatbots, automated phone attendants (IVR), or virtual assistants to help respond to common inquiries and route communications. When you interact with an AI-assisted feature, we collect the content of your interaction and may use it to improve the accuracy and helpfulness of these features. All AI interactions are conducted in compliance with applicable law.
7.5 AI Rights
We do not use your personal information to train general-purpose AI models or to develop AI products unrelated to the veterinary services we provide. You may contact us to inquire about how your information is used in connection with AI-assisted tools.
8. Data Protection and Security
We implement reasonable technical, administrative, and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information we collect from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our website is secured with SSL/TLS encryption, and access to client information is restricted to authorized personnel.
No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to use commercially reasonable measures to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
8.1 Data Breach Notification
In the event of a data breach that poses a real risk of significant harm to you, we will notify you and the applicable privacy regulatory authority as required by applicable law.
9. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your province or country of residence, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal information:
• The right to access the personal information we hold about you
• The right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• The right to request the deletion of your personal information, subject to applicable legal and professional retention obligations
• The right to withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information where consent is the basis for processing
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes (applicable US state residents)
• The right to know what personal information has been collected, used, disclosed, or sold
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights
Residents of British Columbia have rights under BC PIPA to access and correct their personal information held by us. Residents of other Canadian provinces have similar rights under PIPEDA.
Residents of applicable US states have rights under all applicable US state consumer privacy laws. We will respond to verified requests within the timeframe required by the applicable state statute.
To exercise any of the above rights, please contact us using the information in Section 16. We may require you to verify your identity before processing your request. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
If you wish to opt out of the sharing of your personal information for advertising purposes, you may use the opt-out tools described in Section 5.4 or submit a request to us directly. A “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link is available on our website footer where required by applicable law.
10. Sharing of Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your personal information in the following limited circumstances:
• With our third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and delivering our services, as described in Section 6
• With our digital marketing agency, VSA Vet Media Inc., which manages our website, advertising, and digital marketing activities on our behalf as a service provider
• With other veterinary professionals or specialists when necessary to provide care for your pet, with your knowledge or consent
• With regulatory, professional, or law enforcement authorities when required by law, court order, or professional obligation
• In connection with a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case we will notify you and your information will remain subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy
• With your consent, for any other purpose disclosed to you at the time of collection
When we share information with advertising platforms for remarketing purposes, this may constitute “sharing” under applicable US state consumer privacy laws. You may opt out of such sharing as described in Section 9.
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 we have inadvertently collected 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 third-party websites, including pet resource directories, licensing authorities, and veterinary information sites. These websites are operated independently and have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third-party website. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website you visit.
Our website includes social media features and links to our profiles on social media platforms. These platforms operate independently and their use of your information is governed by their own privacy policies. Please be aware that social media platforms collect information about your interactions with our content in accordance with their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the data practices of any social media platform, and your interactions with social media features on our website or our social media pages are subject to the platform’s own privacy policy and terms of service.
13. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with our legal and professional obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements.
Veterinary patient records are retained in accordance with applicable provincial regulations governing veterinary practice. Website analytics data and advertising-related data are retained in accordance with the settings and policies of the applicable platforms. Communication records, including call recordings and transcriptions, are retained for the period necessary for quality assurance and legal purposes.
When personal information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, 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 prominent notice on our website.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of our website following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
15. Website Design and Management
Our website is designed, built, and maintained by VSA Vet Media Inc., a digital marketing agency specializing in veterinary practices. VSA Vet Media Inc. acts as a service provider in connection with our website and digital marketing activities, accessing personal information only as necessary to perform services on our behalf.
In this capacity, VSA Vet Media Inc. may access information submitted through our website forms, configure and manage website analytics and advertising tools, and implement technical features of our website including cookie consent infrastructure.
VSA Vet Media Inc. is bound by contractual data processing obligations consistent with PIPEDA, BC PIPA, and applicable US state consumer privacy laws. VSA Vet Media Inc. does not use client information collected through our website for its own purposes or for the benefit of other clients.
For inquiries specifically related to data processing conducted by VSA Vet Media Inc. on our behalf, please contact us using the information in Section 16.
16. Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Apollo Animal Hospital
17525 56 Ave, Surrey, BC V3S 1C4, Canada
Phone: (604) 372-4411
Email: info@apollovetsinsurrey.com
Website: apollovetsinsurrey.com
We will respond to privacy inquiries and requests promptly and in accordance with our obligations under PIPEDA, BC PIPA, and all other applicable privacy legislation.