VDS Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 8/27/2024

1. Introduction

VDS (“we” or “our”) takes your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy applies to all visitors (“you” or “your” or “user”) to our website (“Site”).

We provide this Privacy Policy to inform you of the type of information we collect when you visit our Site, and how we use and share that information. Please review this Privacy Policy carefully to understand these terms and your rights and options.

You can visit our Site to learn about our veterinary services, submit a job application, and to contact us to learn more.

This Privacy Policy is subject to change. If we make any material changes, we will notify you by means of a notice placed on the Site prior to the change becoming effective and we will update the date above accordingly. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy. By using this Site, you agree to the terms and conditions in the most updated Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

“Personal Information” is information that identifies or can be used to identify a natural person. You are not required to provide Personal Information in order to use our Site, nor will we request Personal Information from you.

Information You Provide

We collect certain Personal Information that you voluntarily provide to us (or a third-party provider acting on our behalf) through the interactive features on our Site.

When you use the “Send Message” feature to contact us, we collect your first and last name, contact information including email, and information you choose to share in the subject and message fields.
When you book or request an appointment or fill out our New Client Form, we collect your first and last name; contact information including email, address, and phone number; and information you choose to share in the fields.
If you apply for a job by filling out and submitting the Employment Application form, you provide professional and employment information, such as your job title and place of work.
If you contact us including via email, phone, or text, we may keep a record of that correspondence and any contact information provided.
You may also choose to submit Personal Information to us via other methods, including: (i) through social media or online forums; or (ii) through participation in an offer, program, or promotion.

Information Collected Automatically

As with most websites, our Site may automatically collect certain information about you through cookies and other similar tracking technologies, including:

Browser and device data, such as IP address, device type, computer and connection information such as your browser type, and operating system and version.
Usage data, such as confirmation when you open an email that we send you; and the URLs which lead you to and around the Site including the date and time of access.

We also use Google Analytics on our Site to help us analyze your use of our Site and diagnose technical issues. To learn more about the cookies that we use on our Site and how you can control our use of cookies and third-party analytics, please see our Cookie Policy below.

3. How We Use Your Personal Information

We will only use your Personal Information when and how the law allows us to. Any of the Personal Information we collect about you may be used for one of the following business purposes:

To provide you with our Site, products, and services, including to respond to any inquiries from you, take steps to onboard new pet patients, process payments, and send service communications.
To provide you with the best service and improve and grow our Site and services, including understanding our pet patient and pet family base and trends as well as understanding the effectiveness of our marketing.
To help us improve and personalize the functionality of the Site and services.
To process employment applications in accordance with the position for which it was submitted.
To detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be fraudulent or illegal; and to comply with legal requirements regarding the provision of Site, products, and services.

We may aggregate and de-identify the Personal Information in our database and create reports that do not personally identify any individuals.

4. When We Disclose Your Personal Information

We do not disclose Personal Information except as may be required or permitted by law, rule, or regulation. We disclose your Personal Information as outlined below:

Service Providers: To perform functions on our behalf such as appointment booking, website hosting, marketing automation, analytics, site optimization, and payment processing. There are limited circumstances in which the service provider collects data directly from you when their privacy policies may also apply.
Social Media Platforms: When you choose to interact with us through social media features on our Site. Such interactions typically allow the social media platforms to collect some information about you through cookies and similar tracking technologies they place on your device. In some cases, the social media platforms may recognize you through its cookies even when you do not interact with their application. Please visit the social media platform’s respective privacy policies to better understand their data collection practices and controls they make available to you.
Business Transactions: If we sell all or part of our business, make a sale or transfer of assets, or are otherwise involved in a merger, restructuring, or business transfer, including as part of the due diligence and transaction process.
Legal Requirements: Under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence to comply with subpoenas and other legal processes.
Protection and Enforcement: To pursue available remedies or limit damages we may sustain; to protect our operations; to protect the rights, privacy, safety, or property of us, you, and others; and to enforce our Site Terms of Use or other of our terms and conditions.

5. Cookie Policy

What Are Cookies?

“Cookies” are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. They are small text files that are stored by a user’s web browser on the user’s hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one website to simplify subsequent interactions with that site by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user’s transactions on related websites. A number of cookies we use last only for the duration of your web session and expire when you close your browser. Other cookies last longer and are used to recognize your computer when you return to the Site. Cookies are designed to make your online experience easier and more personalized. They can only be read by the server that placed them and are unable to execute any code or virus.

How Do We Use Cookies?

We rely on partners to provide many features on our Site using data collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies. We use cookies and similar tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Site Operations: Enabling features that are necessary for providing you the services on our Site, such as managing your login session, tracking content views, and remembering your preferences in order to continually improve it and better serve the needs of our users.
Analytics: Allowing us to understand how our services are being used, track site performance, and make improvements.
Social Media: Enabling the sharing of content from our services through social networking and other sites.

Specifically, for analytics providers, we use Google Analytics which is a web analytics service offered by Google. Google Analytics uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Site. Google Analytics shares this data with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

Can I Opt-out?

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. You can change your browser settings to notify you of the cookies being set or updated, and to block cookies. Please note that if you have turned off all cookies, some features of the Site may not be available to you or otherwise function as intended.

To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

6. Links to Third-Party Sites

Our Site contains hyperlinks or embedded links (“Links”) to websites run and controlled by third parties (“Third Party Sites”). These Links are provided to users as a convenience and service to our users. Some Links may take you to Third Party Sites containing information that may be useful or of interest to you.

We do not control the means by which your Personal Information is collected through the Third Party Site or the software used to collect it, nor do we control the security implemented by the third party that controls any Third Party Site. All Third Party Sites are operated independently from us. You understand and agree when you Link to any Third Party Site, this Privacy Policy and the practices that we follow under this Privacy Policy will cease to apply. Rather, the privacy policy offered by the Third Party Site will apply to the Personal Information you provide through that Third Party Site. Please review the privacy policies listed on every Third Party Site that you visit.

We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or opinions expressed on any Third Party Site or for the privacy practices of any third party. We will not, and are under no obligation to, investigate, monitor or check the Third Party Sites for accuracy or completeness, or for any obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, indecent, profane, defamatory or unlawful content or materials. Inclusion of any Link to a Third Party Site does not imply approval or endorsement of the Third Party Site.

7. Security

We have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure Personal Information from unauthorized use or disclosure. However, due to the open communication nature of the Internet, we cannot guarantee that communications between us will be free from unauthorized access by third parties.

8. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Privacy Policy related to our Site, please feel free to contact us at using the location information specified on the Site.