Privacy Policy

Thedford Veterinary Hospital ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use and protect personal information through our website, thedfordvet.ca, in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Information we collect

• Information you give us: When you phone or email us, we receive the information you choose to share, such as your name, contact details and information about your pet.
• Website usage information: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. It collects information such as pages visited, time spent on the site, approximate location (city or region), device and browser type, and how you found us. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. This information is used in aggregate and does not identify you by name.
• Online booking and chat: Our online booking and chat assistant (AVA) are provided by Vetpawer. To book appointments and answer questions, they use information from our clinic records, such as your name, email address and phone number, your pet's name, species, breed and colour, appointment history, reminders and communication history, along with anything you enter. AVA is an automated assistant powered by OpenAI. Chat conversations are not used to train AI models. Please don't share sensitive information through chat, and for urgent concerns, call us.

Cookies

Google Analytics uses cookies (small text files stored in your browser) to distinguish visitors and sessions. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or opt out of Google Analytics using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

How we use your information

• To respond to your enquiries, schedule appointments and provide veterinary care
• To understand and improve how our website works

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

Messages we send

After you book online, you'll receive a booking confirmation by email or text. If you start an online booking but don't finish it, you may receive a reminder to complete it.

Third-party services

Our website uses or links to the following services, which have their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics (website usage statistics)
• Google Maps (the embedded map showing our location)
• Vetpawer (online appointment booking and chat assistant). You can read Vetpawer's privacy policy at https://www.vetpawer.com (linked at the bottom of their website).
• OpenAI (powers the AVA chat assistant)
• Facebook and Instagram (links to our social media pages; their policies apply once you visit those sites)
• Vercel (our website hosting provider)

Vetpawer stores and processes booking and chat data in the United States. Other providers may also store or process information outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be subject to the laws of those countries.

How long we keep information

Website analytics data is kept for up to 14 months. Information you send us by email, chat or online booking is kept only as long as needed for the purpose it was provided, or as required by law.

How we protect information

We use reasonable safeguards to protect personal information, and our website is served over a secure (HTTPS) connection.

Your rights

You may ask to access or correct the personal information we hold about you, or withdraw your consent to its use, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. To make a request, contact us using the details below.

Patient and client records

Records about your pet and your account that are created at the clinic are managed in line with our professional record-keeping obligations. This policy covers information collected through our website.

Contact us

Privacy Officer: Ciaran Ryan
Thedford Veterinary Hospital
83 Main Street, Thedford, ON, N0M 2N0
Phone: 226.402.0183
Email: info@thedfordvet.ca

If you have a concern we have not resolved, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: https://www.priv.gc.ca

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date above shows when it was last updated.