Privacy Notice
Last Updated: December 20, 2024
This Privacy Notice explains how The Dogtopia Foundation ( “Dogtopia”, “we” or “us”) collects, uses, and discloses information about you when you access or use our websites, mobile application and other online products and services, use our services in person, contact our customer service team, engage with us on social media, apply for a job with us, or otherwise interact with us (collectively, the “Services”).
For privacy information related to Dogtopia, its franchisees and other affiliates in the dog daycare and pet services and products business, click here [Link to privacy policy].
We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of the Notice and, in some cases, we may provide additional alerts (such as adding a statement to our website homepage or sending you a notification). We encourage you to review the Privacy Notice whenever you access the Services or otherwise interact with us to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you.
Collection of Information
We collect information about you from a variety of sources. You may be aware of some of these sources and some you may not be aware are available to us. Please review the information below and let us know if you have any questions.
In the past twelve months, we have collected the following information about those who visit our website and where relevant, those who have donated or attended an event.
Information Provided by You
We collect most information directly from you. For example, we collect information when you create an account, fill out a form, participate in a survey, review, contest, or promotion, subscribe to our newsletter or updates, engage with us via third party social media sites, attend an event, or otherwise communicate with us. The types of information we may collect include your name, contact information (such as email address, postal address, phone number), credit card and other payment information, age, location, and any other information you choose to provide along with information collected through electronic devices, described in more detail below.
Automatic Information We Collect
When you access or use our Services or transact business with us, we automatically collect information about you, listed in more detail below. Other than what is needed to make our website or application work correctly, you have the option to opt out of these activities. Please note that if you have set your browser to opt out of all cookies and trackers, we may not be able to set a cookie to remember your selections.
Device Information: We collect information about the computer or mobile device you use to access our Services, including the hardware model, operating system and version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information.
Cookies and other trackers
We (and our service providers) use different technologies to collect information, such as cookies, web beacons, and other technology-based trackers. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive or in your device memory that capture information. We use these to provide insight into how you engage with us, collect metrics, and tell us if our websites are working correctly. Web beacons (also known as “pixel tags” or “clear GIFs”) are electronic images that may be used in our Services or emails and help deliver cookies, count visits, and help us understand usage and campaign effectiveness. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, see Your Choices below.
Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default, but provide settings to accept all cookies, notify you when a cookie is issued, or not receive cookies. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our Services.
You may select which cookies you accept from our site by clicking,<Link to Opt-Out>. You may change these selections at any time. Please note that if you choose to no longer accept one or more categories of cookies, our systems will still retain information gathered before you made the selection not to receive cookies. You may choose whether to accept cookies from our websites in the following categories:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Our website can’t operate properly without strictly necessary cookies. We only collect the minimum personal information needed to provide services on our websites and applications. You can disable these cookies in your browser but parts of our websites and applications may not work.
Functional Cookies
These cookies let us save the choices you make and some of the information you provide when browsing our websites or using our applications. They don’t track your browsing activity on other websites. Without functional cookies, our websites and applications may not work reliably.
Performance Cookies
We use analytical cookies to measure how you use our websites and applications. This helps us improve the Services we provide. Analytical cookies don’t directly identify users.
Targeting Cookies
We use marketing cookies to display personalized messages on and advertisements on our websites and applications and other websites you may visit. We work with approved partners to deliver relevant content and measure the effectiveness of these advertisements.
Log Information: We collect information related to your access to and use of the Services, including the type of browser you use, app version, access times, pages viewed, your IP address, site interaction data, and the page you visited before navigating to our Services.
Location Information: We may derive the approximate location of your device from your IP address. In accordance with your device permissions, we may also collect information about the precise location of your device. You have the ability to stop the collection of location information at any time (see Your Choices below for details).
Transactional Information: When you make a donation, purchase, or return, we collect information about the transaction, such as purchase details, price, donation amount, and date and location of the transaction.
Information from Other Sources
We may also obtain information about you from other sources. For example, we may collect information about you from third parties, such as mailing list providers. We also collect information from publicly available sources, including information you submit in a public forum (e.g., a blog, chat room, or social media). Additionally, if you create or log into your account through a social media site or app, we may have access to certain information from that site, such as your name, account information, and friend lists, in accordance with the authorization procedures determined by such social media site or app.
Use of Information
We use the information we collect to deliver the services and products you request and customize your experience with us. This includes the business and commercial purposes for which we have used your information in the past twelve months. We also use the information we collect to:
Provide, maintain and improve our services and products;
Send you notices, updates, security alerts, reminders, and support and administrative messages and to respond to your comments, questions, and customer service requests;
Communicate with you about the activities of the Dogtopia Foundation, send newsletters, and provide news and information we think will be of interest to you, including via SMS texting (see Your Choices below for information about how to opt out of these communications at any time on the SMS Terms page.);
Personalize your online experience and the advertisements you see when you use the Services or third-party platforms based on your preferences, interests, and browsing and purchasing behavior;
For limited, internal and operational use, such as to enable our website to function;
Facilitate contests, sweepstakes, and promotions and process and deliver entries and rewards;
Conduct audits related to a current interaction with you and related transactions, including, but not limited to, counting ad impressions to unique visitors, verifying positioning and quality of ad impressions, and auditing compliance with this specification and other standards;
Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and protect the rights and property of Dogtopia and others;
Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
Perform services on behalf of us or a service provider, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, processing payments, verifying customer information, providing advertising or marketing services, or conducting analytic services;
Undertake internal research for technological development and demonstration related to our Services;
Undertake activities to verify or maintain the quality or safety of our Services or enhance the Services;
Create de-identified, anonymized, or aggregated information that we process only in a de-identified fashion and will not attempt to re-identify except as permitted by law; and
Carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected.
Sharing your Information
We may share your personal information as follows:
To vendors, service providers, and consultants that perform services for us, including email and mobile marketing, analytics, web hosting, call center services, payment processing, coupon delivery, consulting, and data enhancement;
In response to a request for information if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law or legal process, including lawful requests by public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements;
To the public, if you post information online and elect to make it available to the public, such as by writing a review on our website;
To detect fraud, or if we believe your actions are inconsistent with our user agreements or policies, if we believe you have violated the law, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of Dogtopia or others;
In connection with, including during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company;
Between and among Dogtopia and our current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, franchises, and other companies under common control and ownership; and
With your consent or at your direction.
We may also disclose aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
Selling / Sharing your Information
In the U.S., some states, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia (and others) have passed laws around how companies may collect and use your personal information. These laws often define such activities as “selling” or “sharing” your information. We do not sell your personal information for money. However, based on the definition of “selling” including sharing your information with advertisers or marketing companies for other benefits, it is possible we qualify because we allow third parties to set cookies and trackers on our websites which collect your information and may track you across websites. You can opt out of these activities in the section below on Your Rights.
Advertising and Analytics Services Provided by Others
We may allow others to provide analytics services and serve advertisements on our behalf across the web and in mobile applications. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, device identifiers and other technologies to collect information about your use of the Services and other websites and applications, including your IP address, web browser, mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages or in apps, links clicked, and conversion information.
We may use this information or allow others to engage in such activities as analyze and track data, deliver advertising and content targeted to your interests on our Services and other websites, determine the popularity of certain content and better understand your online activity.
For more information about interest-based ads, or to opt out of having your web browsing information used for behavioral advertising purposes, please visit www.aboutads.info/choices. Your device may also include a feature that will allow you to opt out of having certain information collected through apps used for behavioral advertising purposes.
Social Media and Third-Party Privacy Notices
The Services may offer social media sharing ability and other integrated tools, which let you share actions you take on our Services with other media. Your use of such features enables the sharing of information with your “friends” or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the entity that provides the social sharing feature. Your interactions with those features are governed by the privacy notices of the entities that provide these features. For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features, please visit their privacy notices.
Data Retention and Security
Data Retention
We keep the personal information we collect about you for as long as necessary to carry out the purposes in this Privacy Notice or any other notice provided at the time of collection, such as providing services or products to you, enabling us to communicate with you, supporting our business functions and operations, providing marketing and personalization, conducting research, making data-driven business decisions about new offerings, satisfying our legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, or contractual obligations, and resolving disputes. Where required, we will dispose of the information we collect when we no longer need it for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice or any other notice provided at the time of collection, in accordance with Dogtopia’s retention policies and procedures.
We use certain criteria to determine retention periods, such as ensuring you get the experience you desire or welcome when you visit any location, self-service capability, our legal and contractual obligations and the value of your data over time in providing Services to you.
Data Security
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information. However, no website or business that transact electronically or online is completely secure. You are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect your personal information, such as using strong passwords and using different passwords across your online accounts. We will never request your password or credit card information through email.
Children’s Personal Information
We recognize the particular importance of protecting the privacy of children. We do not knowingly collect, sell, or share personal information from children under the age of 13. We do not target children to engage with the Dogtopia Foundation.
International Transfer of Information
The Dogtopia Foundation is based in the United States, We process and store information in the U.S.
Your Choices
Account Information
As always, you can see and update certain account information at any time by logging into your account, calling our Customer Care number at 1-(602) 730-6000 or emailing [email protected]
Location Information
When you first launch any of our mobile applications that collect location information, you will be asked to consent to the application’s collection of this information. If you initially consent to our collection of this location information, you can subsequently stop the collection of this information at any time by changing the preferences on your mobile device. If you do so, our mobile applications, or certain features thereof, may no longer function properly, such as showing you the nearest location without inputting a zip code. You may also stop our collection of this location information by following the standard uninstall process to remove all our mobile applications from your device.
Certain mobile devices contain geo-location tracking capability. We may use such capability or other geo-location tracking technology to identify the location of devices for marketing, to generate coupons or other offers, and for analytical purposes.
Promotional Communications
You may opt out of receiving promotional emails from the Dogtopia Foundation by following the instructions in the emails or by logging into your account and changing your preferences. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about your account or our ongoing business relations.
SMS Privacy Notice
By participating in any of our mobile programs, you agree to receive recurring automated phone calls and text messages at the phone number you provided at opt-in. Phone calls made and text messages sent to your mobile device may be generated using an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers. Message frequency will vary. Your consent to receive marketing messages via phone or text is not a condition of any purchase. You agree to notify Dogtopia at the Contact Us information below if you change or disconnect your mobile phone number. Message and data rates may apply and are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Delivery of messages are subject to the effective transmission by your mobile service provider and any policies or terms established by your mobile service provider. For SMS messages, text HELP for help and STOP to opt out. Additionally, you may cancel messages from Dogtopia by texting STOP to 34872 for Dogtopia Alerts or 23337 for Dogtopia Promos.
With your consent, we may send promotional and non-promotional push notifications or alerts to your mobile device. You can deactivate these messages at any time by changing the notification settings on your mobile device.
This Privacy Notice and the Dogtopia Foundation’s Terms of Use apply to the SMS Terms and are subject to change. More information about SMS texting, please visit the SMS Terms.
Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you reside, you may have the following rights as provided by law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights, although there may be natural consequences, such as in deleting your information, you won’t be an enrolled rewards member (CVIP) on subsequent visits.
Access and Portability. You may have the right to request access to the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, including what information we may have shared about you for marketing purposes. We will provide this personal information to you in a commonly used portable format.
Correction: You may have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.
Deletion: You may have the right to request deletion of your personal information we have collected about you (subject to certain exceptions).
Please know that if you delete certain information, such as your whole account, we will not retain the information to provide Services based on your history, such as donation history.
After honoring your deletion request, we will retain personal information that is necessary for us to fulfill our legal obligations or that is not otherwise subject to deletion under applicable law.
It is very difficult technologically to delete data from back-ups. If your request is granted, we will retain what is in our back-ups until it is overwritten through the normal course of business. If we are required to restore from back-ups and granted your request to delete, we will re-delete your information.
Appeal: You may have the right to appeal a denial of your request to access, correct, or delete your personal information.
Opt Out of Sales, Shares, and Targeted Advertising. You may have the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information, as well as the use of your information for “targeted advertising,” as those terms are defined under privacy laws.
Exercising Your Rights: You may make a rights request by contacting us at [email protected] or 1 (602) 730-6000.
To confirm your identity and ensure we respect your privacy and security, we will prompt you to verify your request by logging into your account (if applicable), replying to an email, or calling us. Please follow the instructions provided when you submit your rights request.
Notice of Financial Incentives
We offer various financial incentives. For example, we may provide discounts, rewards, exclusive offers, or other benefits to customers who sign up to join our loyalty program or to participate in a promotional campaign.
When you participate in a financial incentive, we collect contact data from you, such as your name, email address, or phone number and commercial information (like your purchase preferences and interests or purchase history). You can opt into a financial incentive by following the sign-up or participation instructions provided, and, for any ongoing benefits, you have the ability to opt-out at any time, such as by following the instructions set forth in the applicable promotional campaign or program or contacting us through one of the methods below. We may change the terms of certain programs and if so, we will notify you in the method indicated for that program.
In some cases, we may provide additional terms and conditions for a financial incentive, which we will provide to you when you sign up. The value of your personal information is reasonably related to the value of the offer or discount presented to you.
Contact Us
All comments, questions, concerns or complaints regarding your personal information should be forwarded to our Administrator as follows: [email protected] or 1 (602) 730-6000.
CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Key Information
Categories of Personal Information Collected: In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information: contact information, identifiers, commercial information, internet or other electronic network activity information, geolocation data, sensitive personal information as defined under California law, and inferences drawn about any of the preceding categories of information. We also collect the following categories of personal information from job applicants: professional or employment related information and education information. For examples and more details on the types of personal information we collect, please see “Collection of Information” in our posted Privacy Notice.
Business or Commercial Purpose for Collecting and Selling Information: We collect personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in “Use of Information” in our posted Privacy Notice.
Categories of Sources of Personal Information: We collect personal information directly from you, from automatically collected information online, and through third parties as listed in “Collection of Information” in our posted Privacy Notice.
Categories of Personal Information We Disclose: In the preceding 12 months, depending on your interactions with us, we may have disclosed some or all of the personal information we collect from or about you to third parties.
Categories of Third Parties to Whom We Disclose Personal Information: We may share your personal information with third parties as described in the “Sharing your Information” in our posted Privacy Notice.
Retention: We retain personal information as described in the Data Retention and Security section of our Privacy Notice.
Sale or Share of Personal Information: In the preceding 12 months, depending on your interactions with us, we may have “sold” or “shared” the following categories of personal information: identifiers and internet or other electronic network activity information and we share other identifiers such as cookies and advertising identifiers associated with your mobile device with our advertising partners to show our ads that are tailored to people who may be interested in our services. You can opt out of these disclosures by clicking here (link) or by using a legally recognized opt-out preference signal, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). Some technology and opt outs may be limited to the specific browser or device that you are using. You may need to renew your opt-out if you use a different browser or device to access our websites. We do not knowingly “sell” or “share” information relating to individuals younger than 16.
Notice of Financial Incentives: Please see “Notice of Financial Incentives” in our posted Privacy Notice.
California Privacy Rights: Please see “Your Privacy Rights” in our posted Privacy Notice. You may contact us at All comments, questions, concerns or complaints regarding your personal information should be forwarded to our Administrator as follows: [email protected] or 1 (602) 730-6000.