Privacy Policy

Who we are

Paws & Co LLC (“Paws & Co”, “we”, “us”) operates this website and provides veterinary and related services in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Data controller: Paws & Co LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For any privacy matter, contact us at hello@pawsandco.com.

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have under UAE data protection law, principally Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (the PDPL).

What we collect

Information you give us:

• Contact details: name, email, phone or WhatsApp number
• Basic pet details you choose to share when you enquire or build a plan: name, species, breed and age
• Membership-interest and enquiry information
• Payment information, where you pay (processed by our payment provider; we do not store full card details)
• Job applications: CV, contact details and the information you submit
• Anything you tell us in messages or forms

What the website does not hold. This website does not store your pet’s clinical or medical records. Once you become a patient, your pet’s medical history is held in our veterinary practice-management system, which is governed by its own security and data-handling standards. The website is for finding us, enquiring and joining, not for holding clinical records.

Information we collect automatically:

• Device and browser information, and IP address
• How you use the website (pages viewed, actions taken), via analytics and, where enabled, session-behaviour tools
• Cookies and similar technologies

What we work out from your information

As well as what you give us and what we collect automatically, we derive a small amount of information. When you enquire through one of our advertising campaigns, we use a third-party name-classification service to estimate two things from the name you give us: a likely gender, and the country that a name of that kind is most commonly associated with. Each estimate is stored with a confidence score beside it.

These are guesses about a name, not facts about you. Two people with the same name get the same result, whatever their gender, nationality or background. We use them for one purpose: to understand which of our campaigns reach which audiences.

They are never used to decide the care your pet receives, what you are charged, what you are offered, or whether you can join. They are never shown to you and never used in anything we send you. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in measuring our marketing.

If you would rather we did not hold this, tell us at hello@pawsandco.com and we will delete it. Nothing else about your enquiry or your membership changes.

Why we use it, and our legal basis

We process your data to:

• Set up and run your membership, bookings and payments
• Answer your enquiries and provide support, including via our app and messaging tools
• Handle job applications
• Improve the website and our services, and measure marketing
• Send you communications you have asked for, or that relate to your membership
• Meet our legal and regulatory obligations

Our lawful bases include your consent, the performance of a contract with you, our legitimate interests in running and improving the service, and compliance with legal obligations. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

AI-assisted tools

Some of our tools use artificial intelligence to help answer general questions and guide you to the right next step. Anything you type into them is used to respond to you and to improve the service, and is handled with the same protections as the rest of your data. This guidance is general information, it does not create a clinical record, and it does not replace veterinary care.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only where necessary, with:

• Our veterinary and clinical teams
• Service providers who help us operate: our practice-management system, hosting, payment processing, analytics, email and messaging tools, marketing automation, and the name-classification service described above
• Professional advisers and regulators where required by law

We require our providers to protect your data and to use it only for the purposes we set. We do not sell your personal data.

International transfers

Some of our providers process data outside the UAE. Where personal data is transferred outside the UAE, we take the steps required under the PDPL to keep it protected, including appropriate contractual safeguards with those providers.

How long we keep it

We keep personal data for as long as we need it for the purposes above, including to meet legal and record-keeping requirements, and then delete or anonymise it.

How we protect it

We use technical and organisational measures to keep your data secure, and we limit access to those who need it. No system is perfect, but we take the security of your and your pet’s information seriously.

Your rights

Under the PDPL you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Have inaccurate data corrected
• Have your data deleted in certain circumstances
• Restrict or object to certain processing
• Withdraw consent where we rely on it
• Request your data in a portable format
• Lodge a complaint with the UAE Data Office

To exercise any of these, contact us at hello@pawsandco.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by law.

Children

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We will post the new version here and update the date above. If we make a material change, we will let you know.