Terms of Use
Effective draft: August 16, 2026. This is a software starter document—not a substitute for Ontario counsel, insurance review, worker-classification analysis, or provider-specific terms.
1. Platform purpose
NearPaw coordinates non-medical pet-care services and provides tools for identity and screening status, matching, payment, communication, CareProof tracking, support, and incident management. It is not a veterinary, police, emergency-response, or guaranteed animal-safety service.
2. Accurate information
Owners must disclose material behavioural, bite, escape, medical, equipment, access, and emergency information. Caregivers must accurately disclose qualifications, identity, screening status, availability, location, and ability to perform the service.
3. Eligibility and accounts
Users must protect login credentials and may not transfer verified caregiver accounts. NearPaw may require re-verification, restrict access, suspend dispatch, preserve evidence, or investigate suspected misuse.
4. Bookings and payment
A booking becomes confirmed only after the configured payment requirement and caregiver acceptance or administrative assignment. Prices, fees, tax, and any urgent surcharge are shown before checkout. Payment-provider terms also apply.
5. Urgent targets
Care Now arrival times are estimates or operational targets unless an express written guarantee and remedy are displayed at checkout. Weather, traffic, caregiver supply, pet risk, location accuracy, network failures, and emergencies can affect timing.
6. Safety controls
Users agree to comply with check-in/out, equipment, location, media, incident, home-access, and communication controls. No badge, check, GPS point, or technology feature is a warranty of perfect safety or complete information.
7. Cancellations, refunds, and claims
The production policy must set deadlines, fees, no-show handling, caregiver replacement, refunds, evidence, claim notice, deductibles, exclusions, appeal, and payment timing. Until configured and legally reviewed, NearPaw should remain in controlled pilot mode.
8. Emergency situations
Call 911 for immediate threats to human safety. Contact an emergency veterinary hospital for animal medical emergencies. A NearPaw support ticket does not replace emergency services.
9. Intellectual property and acceptable use
Users may not scrape, reverse engineer, misuse location data, harass others, upload unlawful content, bypass payment, impersonate another person, or use the system to surveil a person outside a valid care session.
10. Governing framework
The final agreement should specify the contracting entity, Ontario governing law, forum, consumer-law protections, dispute process, severability, notices, and amendments. Mandatory legal rights cannot be waived by contract wording.