1. Introduction

Coastal City Animal Hospital (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information obtained through our website at coastalcityanimalhospital.ca and through our communications with you.

We operate in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Our privacy practices are governed by the Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia) (PIPA, SBC 2003, c. 63) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) where applicable. We are also committed to respecting all applicable US state consumer privacy laws for website visitors located in the United States.

By using our website or communicating with us, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us, including:

• Your name, phone number, email address, and mailing address
• Pet information including your pet’s name, species, breed, age, and health history
• Appointment requests and service inquiries submitted through our website forms
• Product refill requests and online store order and payment information
• Feedback, reviews, and survey responses
• Any other information you choose to share with us

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Your IP address, browser type, and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths through the site
• Referring URLs and search terms used to find our website
• Device identifiers and browser settings
• Information collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 5)

This information is collected through website analytics platforms and tag management systems to help us understand how visitors use our website and to improve our services.

2.3 Communication Platforms

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

• The content of your communications
• Call recordings and voicemail messages
• Text message correspondence
• Automated communication interactions

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To schedule and manage your appointments
• To respond to your service inquiries and requests
• To process online store orders and product refill requests
• To send appointment reminders, follow-up communications, and health notifications
• To improve our website, services, and client communications
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
• To analyze website usage and optimize our digital presence
• To serve relevant advertising to website visitors through our online advertising programs (see Section 5.4)
• To detect and prevent fraud and unauthorized access to our systems

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

4. SMS and Text Message Communications

If you provide your mobile phone number and consent to receive text messages from us, we may send you appointment reminders, confirmations, follow-up messages, and service-related communications.

Opt-out: Reply STOP to any text message at any time to unsubscribe from SMS communications.

Help: Reply HELP for assistance, or contact us at (778) 441-3989.

Opt-out processing: We will process your opt-out request within 10 business days.

Withdrawal: You may also withdraw consent to SMS communications by contacting us using any reasonable method, including by phone, email, or in writing.

Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. 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

Our website uses the following categories of cookies:

Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be turned off. They are set in response to actions you take, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or completing a form. You can set your browser to block these cookies, but some parts of the website may not work as a result.

Statistics Cookies: These cookies collect anonymous information about how visitors use our website, including which pages are visited and how long visitors spend on each page. This information helps us improve our website. These cookies do not identify you personally.

Marketing Cookies: These cookies are used to deliver relevant advertising to you based on your interests, both on our website and on other websites. They help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. These cookies may track your browsing activity across other websites.

5.2 Cookie Consent

When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner that gives you the ability to accept or decline each cookie category. Essential cookies are always active and cannot be declined. Statistics and Marketing cookies are only activated with your explicit consent.

You may update your cookie preferences at any time by accessing the cookie settings on our website. Our cookie consent infrastructure is configured by VSA Vet Media Inc. on our behalf.

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

We recognize the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal and other universal opt-out mechanisms (UOOM) as valid expressions of your preference to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. If your browser or device transmits a GPC signal when you visit our website, we will treat it as an opt-out request in accordance with applicable law.

5.4 Online Advertising and Remarketing

We use online advertising services to show relevant advertisements to people who have previously visited our website or who may be interested in our services. This includes remarketing and custom audience features that allow us to reach past website visitors across other websites and platforms.

Our advertising partners may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your visits to our website and other websites over time in order to deliver advertisements that may be relevant to your interests.

Your advertising choices:

• To opt out of personalized advertising by our advertising platforms, visit Google Ads Settings.
• To opt out of interest-based advertising by other participating companies, visit the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Opting out of personalized advertising does not mean you will stop seeing advertisements. You may continue to see generic, non-personalized ads.

6. Third-Party Services

To operate our website and deliver our services, we work with third-party service providers. We share information with these providers only as necessary for them to perform services on our behalf. We require all service providers to protect your information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and our data processing agreements.

We use third-party providers in the following functional categories:

• Online form and appointment request providers: collect and transmit information you submit through website forms and appointment requests
• Communication and scheduling platforms: facilitate appointment reminders, two-way messaging, and client communications
• Website analytics platforms: collect and analyze information about website visits and user behavior
• Website hosting providers: store and deliver our website content and files
• Online store providers: process orders and payments made through our online store
• Online advertising platforms: serve and measure the performance of our digital advertising campaigns
• Social media platforms: facilitate social media integrations and advertising features

We do not authorize our service providers to use or disclose your information for any purpose other than to perform services on our behalf or as required by law.

7. AI-Assisted Tools

We use artificial intelligence and automated tools to improve the efficiency and quality of our client communications. The following disclosures explain how these tools operate.

7.1 No AI for Medical Decisions

No AI tool used by Coastal City Animal Hospital makes clinical or medical decisions. All medical decisions are made exclusively by licensed veterinary professionals. AI tools are used solely for administrative and communication purposes.

7.2 Call Recording

Calls to and from Coastal City Animal Hospital may be recorded. Call recordings may be used for quality assurance, staff training, and to improve client communications. AI-assisted tools may be used to transcribe voicemail messages and to categorize and analyze calls.

By calling us, you consent to the recording of your call. If you do not wish to have your call recorded, please notify us at the beginning of the call and we will accommodate your request.

7.3 Automated Communications

We use automated tools to send appointment reminders, follow-up messages, and other service-related communications. These tools may use information from our practice management system to personalize the timing and content of messages. Automated review response suggestions may be generated with AI assistance, subject to review and approval by our staff before sending.

7.4 AI Interaction Disclosure

Some of our communication tools include chatbot or automated phone attendant features. When you interact with one of these tools, you may be communicating with an automated system rather than a human representative. We disclose the use of such automated systems in compliance with applicable law.

7.5 Your Rights Regarding AI

You may request that a human representative follow up on any inquiry submitted through an automated system. To make this request, contact us at (778) 441-3989 or info@coastalcityanimalhospital.ca.

8. Data Protection and Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include SSL encryption for data transmitted through our website, access controls for internal systems, and security practices maintained by our website hosting provider.

No method of data transmission or storage is completely secure. While we take the protection of your information seriously, we cannot guarantee absolute security against all threats.

8.1 Data Breach Notification

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

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and the applicable law, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Access: the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: the right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions
• Restriction: the right to request that we limit the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• Portability: the right to receive your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format
• Opt-out of sale or sharing: the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
• Non-discrimination: the right not to be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights

Do Not Sell or Share: You may submit a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” request using the link in our website footer or by contacting us directly using the information in Section 16.

Residents of British Columbia and Canada

If you are located in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada, you have rights under PIPA (BC) and PIPEDA, including the right to access your personal information and to request correction of inaccuracies. To submit a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the information in Section 16.

Residents of the United States

If you are located in the United States, you may have additional rights under all applicable US state consumer privacy laws. To exercise your rights, submit a verifiable request using the contact information in Section 16. We will respond within the timeframe required by the applicable state statute.

10. Sharing of Information

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

With service providers: As described in Section 6, we share information with third-party providers who perform services on our behalf.

For advertising purposes: We may share or disclose information with online advertising and social media platforms for the purpose of serving relevant advertising and measuring campaign performance. This constitutes “sharing” under the California Consumer Privacy Act and similar US state consumer privacy laws. Residents of California and residents of other US states with applicable consumer privacy laws have the right to opt out of this sharing.

As required by law: We may disclose your information to comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests from government or regulatory authorities, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Coastal City Animal Hospital, our clients, or others.

In a business transfer: If our practice is sold, merged, or otherwise transferred, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in accordance with applicable law.

11. Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe we may have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us using the information in Section 16.

12. Links to External Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including social media platforms, pet health resources, and other external sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

Social Media Disclaimer

Our website may include features that connect to social media platforms, including Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Any information you share through social media features is subject to the privacy policies of those platforms and not this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the data practices of Meta Platforms, Inc. or any other social media company. Coastal City Animal Hospital is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in a formal partnership with Meta Platforms, Inc.

13. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Veterinary records are retained in accordance with applicable professional standards and regulatory requirements for British Columbia.

When personal information is no longer needed for these purposes, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or anonymize it.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or applicable law. When we make material changes, 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, developed, and maintained by VSA Vet Media Inc., a veterinary-focused digital marketing agency based in Vancouver, British Columbia. VSA Vet Media Inc. acts as a service provider to Coastal City Animal Hospital and processes personal information only as directed by and on behalf of Coastal City Animal Hospital. VSA Vet Media Inc. does not use or disclose personal information collected through this website for its own independent purposes.

For purposes of applicable privacy law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other applicable US state consumer privacy laws, VSA Vet Media Inc. is a service provider and not a third party with respect to the personal information it processes on behalf of Coastal City Animal Hospital.

16. Contact Information

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

Coastal City Animal Hospital

#105-1849 Dufferin Crescent
Nanaimo, BC V9S 0B1, Canada

Phone: (778) 441-3989
Email: info@coastalcityanimalhospital.ca