Terms and Conditions

Effective Date:

At All Paws Matter (“APM”, “we”, “us”), your trust is essential. Whether you’re adopting, fostering, donating, or simply following our rescue stories, we want you to feel safe knowing how we handle your information. This policy follows Canadian privacy laws, including PIPEDA and Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL).

What We Collect

  • Contact details you share with us: name, email, phone, mailing address.
  • Donation/transaction details processed securely by our payment providers (we do not store full card numbers).
  • Application information for adoption/foster (e.g., household/pet history you choose to provide).
  • Basic website data such as IP address, browser/device type, and pages visited to help improve our site. We may use cookies or similar technologies for essential site features and analytics.

How We Use Your Information

  • To process adoptions, fosters, and donations (including issuing Canadian tax receipts where applicable).
  • To communicate thank-yous, important updates, and rescue stories (you can opt out anytime).
  • To operate, secure, and improve our website and services, and to meet legal and audit requirements.
Consent: We collect, use, and disclose personal information with your consent or as otherwise permitted/required by law. You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits and reasonable notice.

Who We Share It With

  • Trusted service partners (e.g., secure payment processors, email platforms, hosting/IT support) who help us run the rescue. They may store or process data in Canada or other countries.
  • Legal and safety disclosures if required by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, donors, volunteers, the public, or animals in our care.

We never sell or rent your personal information.

Cross-Border Transfers

Some providers may process information outside Canada (e.g., in the United States). While abroad, your information may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions. We select vendors with appropriate contractual and security safeguards.

How We Keep It Safe

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the data—secure servers, role-based access, encryption in transit (and by our payment partners at rest), and staff/volunteer confidentiality practices. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work hard to protect your information—just as we work hard to protect the animals in our care.

Retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed to fulfill the purposes above and to meet legal, accounting, or audit requirements (for example, CRA record-keeping for donations). Then we securely delete or anonymize it.

Your Choices & Rights (Canada)

  • Access/Correction: Request access to, or correction of, your personal information.
  • Withdraw Consent & Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from emails (CASL) or withdraw other consents with reasonable notice.
  • Questions or Complaints: Contact our Privacy Officer (details below). You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are intended for adults. If you believe a child under the age of 13 has provided personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.