Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: All Veterinarians who write or review clinical reference content for the Platform, and to the Company's maintenance of that content.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This Policy governs the clinical reference content the Platform maintains for clinicians and for the teletriage service: the only clinical content the Platform's automated tools may draw on, and the reference material presented to Veterinarians in support of consultations. It states the sourcing standard for an entry, the review cadence, the scoping rules, and the limits on what an entry may contain.
1.2 The rule of this Policy is absolute: content that is not in the maintained reference set shall not be stated by an automated tool as clinical guidance. The narrowness of the reference set is a safety property of the service, not a defect. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Use, this Policy controls for the subject it governs. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the terms of a program in which a party participates, the program terms control for that program.
1.3 No entry in the reference set overrides a Veterinarian's judgment, and no entry overrides a product's approved labeling. The practice of veterinary medicine is governed by the law of the state in which the patient is located.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 Account: the account a person or business establishes with the Company to use the Platform.
2.2 Company: All About Pawz, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company.
2.3 Entry: one item of clinical reference content in the reference set, with its title, content, category, species scope, and recorded source.
2.4 Patient: the animal that is the subject of a consultation or a triage session.
2.5 Platform: the websites, applications, and services the Company operates under the name All About Pawz, including aapawz.com.
2.6 Veterinarian: a veterinarian licensed in a state in which the Company offers veterinary services, whom the Company has accepted to provide veterinary services, or to write or review reference content, through the Platform.
Article 3: The Reference Set
3.1 The reference set at the effective date of this Policy consists of eight active Entries: three emergency Entries sourced to veterinary authorities: gastric dilatation-volvulus (Merck Veterinary Manual), respiratory distress (AVMA), and toxin ingestion (ASPCA Poison Control): and a urinary triage Entry (Merck Veterinary Manual); and four Entries written for the Platform: vomiting triage, feline hiding and lethargy, coughing and sneezing, and itching and hot spots. The emergency Entries anchor the highest-risk presentations; the Platform-written Entries cover high-volume routine presentations.
3.2 The reference set covers triage and general care information only. The set is a starting set, not a complete one. The Company adds Entries in the order the triage quality data indicates: the presentations the service encounters most and covers least adequately are written first. Every new Entry passes through the sourcing rule in Article 4, the review in Article 6, and activation; no stage is shortened for volume.
Article 4: Sourcing Standard
4.1 Every Entry records its title, content, category, applicable species, and source. A new Entry shall cite a veterinary-authoritative source: peer-reviewed literature; veterinary school clinical resources; the Merck Veterinary Manual; AVMA, AAHA, or AAFP guidance; ASPCA Poison Control; or an equivalent authority.
4.2 An Entry written for the Platform is permitted for a routine presentation, and shall be written or reviewed by a licensed Veterinarian. Platform authorship describes who wrote the Entry; the standard the Entry must meet is the same as for an authority-sourced Entry.
4.3 An Entry without a recorded source shall not be activated. An unsourced Entry remains inactive until the source is recorded and the review in Article 6 is complete.
4.4 Where two Entries could support the same presentation and the Entries disagree, the Entry with the more authoritative source governs, and the disagreement is flagged for clinical review. The reference set shall not carry two answers to the same question without the conflict being recorded and resolved.
Article 5: Limits on Content
5.1 No Entry shall contain: (a) a dosing protocol for triage use; (b) a diagnostic method that purports to replace a Veterinarian's judgment, including a method of the form "if signs X and Y are present, the diagnosis is Z"; (c) an instruction directing a Client to perform a veterinary medical procedure; or (d) content that expands what an automated tool is permitted to state beyond the boundaries in the Teletriage Disclosure Policy and the Teletriage Standards Policy.
5.2 First-aid content is permitted: an Entry may state measures a Client may take to protect the Patient while travelling to in-person care. First aid is not a procedure instruction within Article 5.1(c).
5.3 An Entry does not override a Veterinarian's judgment in an individual case, and an Entry does not override the approved labeling of a product. A Veterinarian who departs from an Entry in the exercise of clinical judgment records the departure in the clinical documentation, as the Clinical Documentation Policy provides; the departure is not, without more, a violation of this Policy.
Article 6: Review Cadence
6.1 Emergency-protocol Entries: gastric dilatation-volvulus, respiratory distress, and toxin ingestion: are reviewed every six (6) months by a reviewer who holds veterinary credentials.
6.2 Every Entry is reviewed at least annually. The review confirms: the source remains current; the content matches the source; the species scope is correct; and field experience, including the triage quality reviews under the Teletriage Standards Policy, has not surfaced a problem with the Entry. The reviewer records approval and the review date on the Entry.
6.3 An out-of-cycle review is triggered by: (a) a clinical incident that implicates an Entry, under the Clinical Incident Reporting Policy; (b) an update to the Entry's source publication, including a new edition of the Merck Veterinary Manual or revised AVMA guidance; or (c) a Veterinarian flagging an Entry as wrong. A trigger under this Article pulls the Entry into immediate review, and the Entry is deactivated pending review where the concern is safety-critical.
Article 7: Deactivation, Retention, and Retrieval Scope
7.1 The Company may deactivate an Entry that is outdated, disputed, or superseded. Deactivation removes the Entry from retrieval at once; no automated tool draws on a deactivated Entry.
7.2 Deactivation requires a recorded reason, recorded with the change, identifying the reviewer and the date. Deletion of an Entry is prohibited. Deactivated Entries are retained with their history, so that the record answers what content the service drew on at any past date: including the date of a triage session under incident review.
7.3 Species scope is enforced at retrieval: content scoped to one species shall not be drawn on for a presentation concerning another species, except where the Entry is expressly scoped to both. The feline hiding and lethargy Entry is feline-only; canine behavioral guidance shall not be applied to a feline presentation.
7.4 Category scope is enforced at retrieval: an emergency presentation draws on emergency Entries first. Retrieval that returns a routine Entry for an emergency presentation, on a shared word alone, is a retrieval failure and is recorded as a quality failure under the Teletriage Standards Policy.
Article 8: Liability
8.1 Reference content risk. Reference content is general information maintained to the sourcing standard of this Policy. The content is not a direction for the treatment of an individual Patient, and no provision of this Policy is a promise of a clinical outcome. Nothing in this Article limits liability for personal injury or injury to an animal caused by negligence, where applicable law does not permit the limitation.
8.2 Exclusion of certain damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this Policy, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
8.3 Cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this Policy shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the affected party paid to the Company under this Policy in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
8.4 Carve-outs. This Article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this Policy; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts owed for Orders, fees, chargebacks, or refunds under the Company's documents; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
8.5 Essential purpose. The parties agree that this Article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 9: Indemnification
9.1 Duty. The Veterinarian shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, demand, action, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) the Veterinarian's breach of this Policy; (b) the Veterinarian's services, content, or Entries the Veterinarian wrote or reviewed; (c) the Veterinarian's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (d) taxes for which the Veterinarian is responsible under the Company's documents.
9.2 Procedure. The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this Article. The Veterinarian shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Veterinarian shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes any obligation or restriction on the Company, or that does not release the Company fully, without the Company's prior written consent.
9.3 Survival. This Article survives the termination of this Policy.
Article 10: Enforcement and Appeals
10.1 Investigation. The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this Policy. The Veterinarian shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this Policy requires the Veterinarian to keep.
10.2 Notice. If the Company determines that the Veterinarian has violated this Policy, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation.
10.3 Opportunity to cure. Where a violation is capable of cure, the Veterinarian has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing. No cure period applies to fraud, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
10.4 Measures. If a violation is established and is not cured within the period allowed, the Company may, proportionate to the violation: (a) issue a written warning; (b) remove or suppress content, including deactivation of an Entry; (c) suspend the Account or program participation, in whole or in part; (d) terminate this Policy and the Account; and (e) exercise any other right or remedy available under the Company's documents or at law. The Company may suspend a Veterinarian's participation immediately where a license has lapsed or a safety risk arises.
10.5 Appeal. The Veterinarian may appeal a measure under this Article by written notice to legal@aapawz.com within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision. The Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing.
10.6 No waiver by delay. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 11: Term and Termination
11.1 Term. This Policy takes effect when the Veterinarian is accepted to write or review reference content, or when the Company first maintains the reference set, and continues until terminated under this Article.
11.2 Termination by the Company. The Company may terminate this Policy and the Account on thirty (30) days' written notice for any reason, and immediately on written notice if the affected party materially breaches this Policy, engages in fraud, or becomes ineligible to participate.
11.3 Termination by the Veterinarian. The Veterinarian may terminate this Policy on thirty (30) days' written notice to support@aapawz.com, provided the Veterinarian has no review assignment or investigation outstanding.
11.4 Effect of termination. On termination: (a) the rights granted under this Policy end; (b) obligations that arose before termination: including payment, refund, record-keeping, and indemnification obligations: survive until satisfied; and (c) the Company shall disburse amounts owed, less amounts the Company may set off under the Company's documents, within thirty (30) days, except amounts held in connection with an open investigation or dispute.
11.5 Survival. The Definitions, Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions Articles survive termination.
Article 12: Dispute Resolution
12.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Policy, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this Policy by reference.
Article 13: General Provisions
13.1 Amendments. The Company may amend this Policy by posting the amended Policy in the Document Center and giving notice to the affected party at the email address in the Account. An amendment that materially increases a party's fees or obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. A party that does not accept an amendment may terminate under Article 11 before the amendment takes effect.
13.2 Notices. Legal notices under this Policy shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com. Operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to a party are effective when sent to the email address in the Account or posted to the Account's notice facility in the portal, whichever occurs first. Each party shall keep the email address in the Account current.
13.3 Governing law. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this Policy shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there. The practice of veterinary medicine under this Policy is governed by the law of the state in which the patient is located.
13.4 Severability. If any provision of this Policy is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
13.5 Entire agreement. This Policy, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and each party for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral.
13.6 Assignment. A party other than the Company shall not assign this Policy or any right or obligation under it without the Company's prior written consent, and an assignment without consent is void. The Company may assign this Policy to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the affected party.
13.7 Waiver. A waiver of any provision of this Policy is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
13.8 Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This Policy shall not be construed against a party as its drafter. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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