Privacy Notice

Paws & Co Veterinary Centre

Last updated: 30 September 2026

This notice explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal information about our clients, health plan members, website visitors and anyone else who contacts us. We have tried to keep it in plain English. If anything is unclear, please ask us.

1. Who we are

Paws & Co Veterinary Centre is an independent veterinary practice at Topcliffe Close, Capitol Park, Tingley, Wakefield WF3 1DR, registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS practice number 7642025).

The practice is operated by Paws & Co Pet Health Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 13321176) with its registered office at Topcliffe Close, Tingley WF3 1DR. Paws & Co Pet Health Ltd is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. This means we decide how and why your information is used, and we are responsible for looking after it.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number ZB956430.

The practice is part of the Paws & Co Group, alongside The Dog Training Company, Yorkshire Paws & Co and McCarthy & Bear. Each business is responsible for the information it holds. Section 7 explains when information is shared within the group.

How to contact us about your information

• Email: hello@pawsandco.vet, with "Data Protection" in the subject line

• Phone: 0113 868 6100

• Post: Data Protection, Paws & Co Veterinary Centre, Topcliffe Close, Capitol Park, Tingley, Wakefield WF3 1DR

2. Who this notice covers

This notice applies to:

• clients who register an animal with us

• Companion and Companion Plus health plan members

• people who book, enquire or contact us by phone, email, social media or through our website

• people who visit our website or buy from our online shop

• people who bring an animal to us on behalf of a registered client, such as a family member or pet sitter

Our staff and job applicants are covered by separate privacy notices.

3. The information we collect

3.1 Information about you

• your name, address, phone number and email address

• details of anyone you authorise to bring your animal to us or make decisions about its care

• payment and billing information, including invoices, payments and any outstanding balance. Card payments are processed by our payment providers and we do not store full card numbers

• health plan details, including the plan you have chosen and how you pay for it

• records of our communications with you, including emails, messages, notes of phone calls, feedback and complaints

• your marketing preferences and any consents you have given

3.2 Information about your animal

This includes your animal's name, species, breed, age, microchip number, insurance details, clinical history, examination notes, test results, images, treatments and prescriptions. Information about an animal is not personal information in itself, but because it is linked to you in our records, we protect it in the same way and keep it confidential in line with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.

3.3 Information from our website and online services

When you use our website or online shop we may collect information about your device and browser, your IP address, the pages you visit and how you arrived, including whether you clicked on one of our adverts. We only use analytics and advertising cookies if you agree to them (see section 10). If you buy from our online shop or create an account, we collect your order and account details.

3.4 Information from other people

• your previous veterinary practice, when your animal's records are transferred to us

• referral practices, visiting specialists and laboratories involved in your animal's care

• our out of hours provider, Vets Now, about any treatment your animal receives out of hours

• VidiVet, if you use the free 24/7 advice service

• pet insurers, in connection with a claim

• microchip databases

• advertising platforms such as Google and Meta, which tell us how our adverts have performed. This is usually in summary form and does not identify you

We do not set out to collect sensitive information about you, such as your own health. If you choose to share it, for example to explain why you need extra help getting your animal into the practice, we will only use it for that purpose.

4. How we use your information and our lawful basis

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each way we use your information. The main ones we rely on are:

• Contract: we need the information to provide the care, services or health plan you have asked for.

• Legal obligation: we need it to meet a legal or regulatory requirement.

• Legitimate interests: we have a genuine reason to use it, and that reason is not outweighed by your rights and interests. You can object to any use based on legitimate interests (see section 11).

• Consent: you have agreed. You can withdraw consent at any time.

5. Advertising and measuring our advertising

We advertise on Google and on Meta's platforms (Facebook and Instagram). To make that advertising more relevant and to avoid wasting money, we may:

• share our clients' email addresses and phone numbers with Google and Meta in a scrambled form, so they can recognise existing clients. We use this to avoid showing adverts aimed at new clients to people who are already registered with us, to show clients information about services relevant to them, and to understand how our advertising is performing

• tell Google and Meta, in the same scrambled form, when someone who clicked one of our adverts goes on to register with us, book an appointment or join a health plan, so we can measure which adverts work

The scrambling process, known as hashing, converts an email address or phone number into a code before it leaves our systems. Google and Meta can only match that code to people who already have an account with them, and both state that they delete the uploaded data once the matching process is complete. We never share any information about your animal's health or treatment for advertising.

We do this on the basis of our legitimate interests in promoting the practice efficiently. You can object at any time by emailing hello@pawsandco.vet with "Advertising opt out" in the subject line, and we will exclude your details from future uploads. You can also manage personalised advertising in your Google and Meta account settings.

6. Who we share your information with

We only share what is necessary, and we never sell your personal information. We may share it with:

• Other veterinary professionals: referral practices, visiting specialists, laboratories, pet crematoria, our out of hours provider Vets Now, and VidiVet.

• Pet insurers: when you ask us to make or support a claim.

• Microchip databases: to keep your animal's registration up to date.

• Service providers acting on our behalf: including our practice management system provider (Lupa), payment providers such as Stripe and Square, our website and online shop provider Shopify, email and text messaging providers, IT support, and professional advisers such as accountants, solicitors and insurers. They may only use your information on our instructions.

• Advertising platforms: Google and Meta, as described in section 5.

• Debt recovery agencies: if fees remain unpaid after reminders.

• Regulators and authorities: where the law requires it, such as the RCVS, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Animal and Plant Health Agency for notifiable diseases, the police or the courts.

• Animal welfare: in rare cases where we have serious concerns about an animal's welfare or a risk to people, we may share relevant information with the RSPCA or the police, in line with RCVS guidance.

• A new owner: if the practice, or part of it, is sold or restructured, your information may transfer to the new owner, who will be bound by the same obligations.

7. Sharing within the Paws & Co Group

We will not share your information with other Paws & Co Group businesses for their own marketing unless you have agreed to it.

If you use more than one group business, for example boarding your dog at Yorkshire Paws & Co, which needs proof of vaccination, we will only share the information needed, at your request or with your agreement.

Some support functions, such as finance, IT and customer service, are provided centrally within the group. Staff carrying out that work may access your information only as needed to do so, and are bound by the same confidentiality obligations.

8. Transfers outside the UK

Some of our service providers, including Google, Meta, Shopify and Stripe, may process information outside the UK, mainly in the European Economic Area and the United States. Where this happens, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations (including the UK Extension to the EU US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified under it), or the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

9. How long we keep your information

We keep information only for as long as we need it. Our standard retention periods are:

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies that are strictly necessary for it and our online shop to work. We only use analytics and advertising cookies, such as Google Analytics, Google Ads and the Meta Pixel, if you agree to them through our cookie banner. You can change your choice at any time.

11. Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Correct information that is wrong or incomplete

• Delete your information in certain circumstances

• Restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances

• Receive your information in a portable format, where we hold it by contract or consent

• Object to any use based on legitimate interests, including advertising. You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing

• Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on it

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

To use any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 1. We will respond within one month and there is normally no charge. We may need to confirm your identity first.

Please note that we are required to keep clinical and medicines records for regulatory reasons, so we may not be able to delete them on request. We will explain if this applies.

12. Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including access controls, secure and encrypted systems, and staff training. Everyone who works for us has a duty of confidentiality, and our veterinary surgeons and nurses are also bound by the confidentiality requirements of their professional codes.

13. Children

We register clients aged 18 or over. A younger person may bring an animal to us with the agreement of the registered adult client.

14. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your information, please contact us first and we will do our best to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office:

• Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

• Phone: 0303 123 1113

• Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

15. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make a significant change that affects you, we will let you know.