Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: Each Groomer who enters into this Agreement with the Company as an independent contractor to provide grooming services through the Platform.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This Agreement is the master services agreement between All About Pawz, LLC (the Company) and the Groomer identified in the Groomer's Account. It engages the Groomer, as an independent contractor, to provide grooming and related hands-on pet-care services to Customers through the Platform, and it states the terms of that engagement: status, incorporation of the program's policies, services, insurance, the care of animals in the Groomer's custody, compensation, term, and termination.
1.2 This Agreement is the engagement instrument for a Marketplace Groomer: a Groomer who acts as an independent contractor and marketplace service provider, offering Services to Customers through the Platform in the Groomer's own business name. This Agreement does not govern a Salon Groomer, who provides services as a salon service provider under the salon program terms of the salon operator at whose location the services are performed, and it does not govern a Groomer employed by the Company, whose relationship with the Company is employment. The three relationships are distinct; no provision of this Agreement converts one into another, and the Groomer shall not represent the Groomer's status to a Customer or to any other person otherwise than as this Article states it.
1.3 If a provision of this Agreement conflicts with the Terms of Use, this Agreement controls for the subject it governs. If a provision of this Agreement conflicts with a policy incorporated under Article 4 on that policy's specific subject, the more specific provision controls for that subject. Policies and help pages explain this Agreement; they do not amend it, and in any conflict this Agreement prevails over any explanation of it.
1.4 This Agreement takes effect when the Groomer signs it or accepts it through the Platform's acceptance process, and when the Groomer's Account is activated under the Groomer Onboarding and Qualification policy, whichever is later. Performance of a Service booked through the Platform before signature, after activation, is acceptance of this Agreement.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 The definitions in the Terms of Use apply to this Agreement. This article defines only the additional terms used in this Agreement, in alphabetical order.
2.2 Agreement: this Groomer Services Agreement, including the policies incorporated by Article 4.
2.3 Appointment: a booked service event comprising one Customer, one or more pets, one scheduled time, and one confirmed scope of Services.
2.4 Customer: a pet owner or caretaker who books and pays for Services through the Platform.
2.5 Groomer: the individual or business entity identified in the Account that enters into this Agreement, acting as a Marketplace Groomer.
2.6 Program Policies: the policies of Groomers of this library incorporated by Article 4.
2.7 Services: grooming, bathing, nail care, ear care, teeth brushing, de-shedding, and related hands-on pet-care services the Groomer offers through the Platform within the specialties recorded in the Groomer's Account.
Article 3: Independent Contractor Status
3.1 The Groomer is an independent contractor. The Groomer provides the Services as an independent business, in the Groomer's own name, for the Groomer's own account. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship between the Groomer and the Company, and neither party shall represent that one exists.
3.2 No agency, partnership, or joint venture. Nothing in this Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, franchise, or agency relationship between the Groomer and the Company. The Groomer has no authority to bind the Company, to enter into a contract in the Company's name, to incur a debt or obligation on the Company's behalf, or to represent the Company to any person. The Company's collection of Customer payments through the Platform is a payment mechanism under Article 8 only; it confers no authority on the Groomer and creates no agency in the Groomer.
3.3 Control. The Groomer controls the manner and means by which the Groomer performs the Services, subject to the standards the Program Policies state: the Service Standards, the Pet Safety and Handling standards, and the qualification conditions of the Groomer Onboarding and Qualification policy. Standards that govern the result and the safety of the work do not convert the engagement into employment, and the parties do not intend them to.
3.4 Tax responsibility is the Groomer's. The Groomer is solely responsible for: (a) all federal, state, and local taxes on amounts paid to the Groomer under this Agreement, including income tax and self-employment tax; (b) obtaining and maintaining any taxpayer identification the law requires, and providing it to the Company accurately; and (c) the tax treatment of the Groomer's own business, staff, and subcontractors. The Company does not withhold taxes from amounts payable to the Groomer, does not provide the Groomer with benefits of any kind, and reports amounts paid to the Groomer as the law requires. Amounts the Groomer receives as tips through the Platform are the Groomer's to report; the Company does not report them on the Groomer's behalf except as the law requires of a payment processor.
3.5 The Groomer's own obligations. The Groomer bears the Groomer's own business obligations: the Groomer's premises or mobile equipment, tools, products, staff, licenses and registrations (including any license a jurisdiction requires for grooming services, evidenced as the Grooming Service Licensing statement provides), and compliance with every law that applies to the Groomer's business.
3.6 Other work. The Groomer may provide services to persons other than Customers of the Platform, in the Groomer's own business and outside the Platform, subject to Article 10 (Customer data and non-solicitation). This Agreement is not an exclusive engagement in either direction: the Company may engage other groomers, and the Groomer may serve the Groomer's own clientele, and neither fact breaches this Agreement.
Article 4: Incorporation of the Program Policies
4.1 The following policies of Groomers of this library are incorporated into this Agreement by reference and bind the Groomer as terms of this Agreement (a) the Groomer Terms of Service: the master terms for Groomers on the Platform;
(b) the Groomer Onboarding and Qualification policy: qualifications, verification, activation, probation, and continuing qualification;
(c) the Service Standards: the standard of performance for each Service;
(d) the Service Pricing and Surcharge policy: prices, surcharges, and discounts;
(e) the Deposit and Prepayment policy: deposits, custody, refund, and forfeiture;
(f) the Booking, Cancellation and No-Show policy: booking, the cancellation cutoff, and no-show consequences;
(g) the Pet Safety and Handling standards: handling, restraint, equipment, and medical distress;
(h) the Vaccination Requirements policy: the vaccination gate, proof, and exemptions;
(i) the Incident and Injury Reporting policy: reporting, severity, investigation, and the allocation of veterinary costs;
(j) the Customer and Pet Data Handling policy: access, permitted use, prohibited uses, retention, and breach notice;
(k) the Groomer Compensation and Commission Terms: the Groomer's compensation;
(l) the Service Liability and Waiver Policy: the Customer waiver, responsibility for the parties' respective shares of safety, and emergency veterinary authorization;
(m) the Service Reviews Policy: Customer reviews of the Groomer's Services;
(n) the Platform Service Guarantee: re-performance and refund for a Service that does not meet standard;
(o) the Appointment Operations Policy: the conduct of an Appointment from check-in to pickup;
(p) the Scheduling and Availability Policy: availability, capacity, and the daily appointment cap;
(q) the Grooming Records and Continuity of Care: Service Records and the continuity of an animal's record;
(r) the Rebooking and Retention Policy: standing and repeat Appointments;
(s) the Groomer Conduct and Enforcement Policy: conduct standards and the application of enforcement measures to Groomers; and
(t) the Groomer Offboarding and Separation Policy: final settlement, return of property, and revocation of access on separation.
4.2 The Groomer acknowledges receipt of the Program Policies at signature. An amendment to a Program Policy is given and takes effect as the General Provisions article of this Agreement provides for amendments, and binds the Groomer as a term of this Agreement from its effective date.
Article 5: Services, Qualification, and Performance
5.1 The Groomer shall provide the Services to the standard the Program Policies state, within the specialties recorded in the Groomer's Account, and only while the Groomer's qualifications are Verified and unexpired under the Groomer Onboarding and Qualification policy. The Groomer shall not perform a Service outside the recorded specialties and shall not perform any Service while a required qualification, license, or insurance policy has lapsed.
5.2 The Groomer shall complete a Service Record for every Appointment before the Appointment is marked complete, shall maintain the records the Program Policies require, and shall produce them on the Company's request in connection with an investigation, a Customer dispute, or an insurance claim.
5.3 The Groomer is not a veterinarian and shall not hold the Groomer out as one. The Groomer shall not diagnose a condition, shall not administer medication except as the Pet Safety and Handling standards expressly permit under a written veterinary directive on file, and shall record observations and recommend veterinary consultation as those standards require.
Article 6: Insurance
6.1 The Groomer shall obtain and maintain, at the Groomer's expense and continuously while this Agreement is in effect: (a) commercial general liability insurance, including coverage for animals in the Groomer's care, custody, or control, with limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, naming All About Pawz, LLC as an additional insured; and (b) any other insurance a law applicable to the Groomer's business requires, including workers' compensation insurance for the Groomer's own employees where the law requires it.
6.2 The Groomer shall provide a certificate of insurance evidencing the coverage in clause 6.1 before activation, shall renew the coverage before it expires, and shall provide a renewed certificate on renewal. The Groomer shall notify the Company within seven (7) days after any cancellation, non-renewal, reduction, or material change of the coverage. A lapse of the coverage required by clause 6.1(a) suspends the Groomer's assignments under the Enforcement and Appeals article until coverage is restored and evidenced; the Groomer shall not perform a Service while uninsured.
6.3 The Groomer's insurance is primary for claims arising out of the Groomer's performance of the Services. Maintenance of insurance does not limit the Groomer's liability or indemnification obligations under this Agreement, and the limits stated in clause 6.1 are minimums, not caps on the Groomer's responsibility.
Article 7: Animals in the Groomer's Care
7.1 Custody and the bailee's duty. When a Customer delivers an animal to the Groomer for a Service, the Groomer takes the animal into the Groomer's custody as a bailee. The Groomer owes the Customer and the animal the duty of reasonable care of a bailee, stated plainly: to keep the animal safe, to handle the animal as a competent groomer handles an animal entrusted to the groomer's keeping, to protect the animal from other animals, from equipment hazards, and from escape, to supervise the animal at every point the Pet Safety and Handling standards require supervision, and to return the animal to the Customer at the end of the Appointment in the condition in which the animal was received, except for the Services performed and any change the Service itself was engaged to make. The duty runs from acceptance at intake until the animal is handed back to the Customer, at whatever place the Service is performed: the Groomer's premises, a mobile unit, or the Customer's premises.
7.2 The standard in practice. Without limiting clause 7.1, the Groomer shall: (a) read the animal's Handling Profile before handling the animal and follow it; (b) use restraint that is the minimum necessary and never leave an animal tethered, on a high table, or under a heated dryer unattended; (c) check blade and shear temperature against the Groomer's own skin before each use on the animal; (d) keep the work area and equipment clean and sanitized between animals, and apply only products safe for the animal and used as directed, as the Service Standards provide; (e) admit no animal that does not satisfy the Vaccination Requirements policy; and (f) stop work at once on any sign of medical distress and follow the medical-distress procedure in the Pet Safety and Handling standards.
7.3 Incident duties. If an animal in the Groomer's custody is injured, bites or is bitten, escapes, or suffers medical distress, the Groomer shall: (a) stop work and secure the animal; (b) provide first aid within the Groomer's training; (c) notify the Company at once, and notify the Customer as the Incident and Injury Reporting policy requires: immediately by telephone for high or critical severity, and at pickup for low or medium severity; (d) obtain emergency veterinary care where the animal needs it and the Customer cannot be reached within thirty (30) minutes, under the standing authorization in the Service Liability and Waiver Policy; and (e) file the incident report before the end of the shift, stating the facts in order. Concealment of an injury to an animal is a material breach of this Agreement.
7.4 Who bears the cost of veterinary care. (a) The Groomer's negligence. Where veterinary care is made necessary by the Groomer's negligence or by the Groomer's breach of the Pet Safety and Handling standards or the Service Standards, the Groomer bears the cost of the reasonable emergency veterinary care the animal requires, documented by invoice. The Company may advance that cost so that the animal is treated without delay and recover the amount advanced from the Groomer, including by set-off against amounts otherwise payable to the Groomer. The Customer does not bear a cost the Groomer's negligence created. (b) A pre-existing condition. Where veterinary care is made necessary by a pre-existing condition of the animal and not by the Groomer's conduct: a disclosed or undisclosed seizure disorder presenting during the Service, a cardiac event with no service cause: the cost is the Customer's, under the Service Liability and Waiver Policy. Where delay would endanger the animal, the Groomer shall ensure the care is obtained and the Company may advance the cost and invoice the Customer afterward. (c) Causation is decided on the record. The intake record, the Handling Profile, the Service Record, and the incident report are the evidence on which a cost dispute under this clause is decided, under the Dispute Resolution Policy. A pre-existing condition does not transfer to the Customer the cost of a new injury the Service caused; the two are allocated separately where both are present. (d) Refund. For a high or critical severity incident within clause 7.3, the Appointment's Service fee is refunded in full in addition to the allocation in this clause, as the Incident and Injury Reporting policy provides.
7.5 No waiver of the duty. No waiver a Customer signs, and no provision of the Service Liability and Waiver Policy, waives or reduces the duty in clause 7.1, and no provision of this Agreement purports to allocate to the Customer a risk created by the Groomer's gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Article 8: Compensation and Payment Flow
8.1 The Groomer's compensation, including any commission, the basis on which it is computed, payout timing, and the treatment of tips, refunds, and no-show Appointments, is governed by the Groomer Compensation and Commission Terms. A rate or fee is payable under this Agreement only if stated in that document or in a written compensation schedule signed under this Agreement. No other charge of any kind is payable by either party under this Agreement.
8.2 All Customer payment for Services booked through the Platform is collected through the Platform. The Groomer shall not accept direct payment from a Customer for a booked Service. Prices and surcharges are governed by the Service Pricing and Surcharge policy, deposits by the Deposit and Prepayment policy, and cancellation and no-show consequences by the Booking, Cancellation and No-Show policy, in each case as a term of this Agreement.
Article 9: Customer and Pet Data; Non-Solicitation
9.1 The Groomer shall handle Customer and pet data strictly under the Customer and Pet Data Handling policy, incorporated by Article 4: use only to provide the Service, no access beyond the Groomer's own book, no removal from Platform systems, no retention of Customer data beyond the relationship, and immediate notice to the Company of a suspected data incident, as that policy states in full.
9.2 The Groomer shall not solicit a Customer of the Platform for services outside the Platform during the term of this Agreement and for twelve (12) months after its termination. The clientele the Groomer builds through the Platform is built on the Platform's Customers; the Groomer's own clientele, acquired independently of the Platform, is not restricted by this clause.
Article 10: Liability
10.1 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 Agreement, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
10.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the Groomer paid to the Company under this Agreement in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
10.3 This article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this Agreement; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts the Groomer owes for fees, chargebacks, refunds, or veterinary costs allocated to the Groomer under Article 7; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
10.4 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. Article 7 of this Agreement: the bailee's duty, the incident duties, and the allocation of veterinary costs between the Groomer's negligence and an animal's pre-existing condition: states the operative risk allocation for animals in care and applies in full.
10.5 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 11: Indemnification
11.1 The Groomer 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 Groomer's breach of this Agreement or of any Program Policy; (b) the Groomer's Services, listings, or User Content; (c) injury to an animal or a person, or damage to property, arising out of the Groomer's performance or non-performance of the Services, except to the extent caused by the Company's own negligence; (d) the Groomer's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; (e) taxes for which the Groomer is responsible under this Agreement, including the taxes of the Groomer's own staff; and (f) the acts of the Groomer's employees, assistants, and subcontractors in connection with the Services, who are the Groomer's responsibility and not the Company's.
11.2 The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this article. The Groomer shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Groomer 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.
11.3 This article survives the termination of this Agreement.
Article 12: Enforcement and Appeals
12.1 The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this Agreement or of any Program Policy. The Groomer shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this Agreement requires the Groomer to keep.
12.2 If the Company determines that the Groomer has violated this Agreement, 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.
12.3 Where a violation is capable of cure, the Groomer has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing. No cure period applies to fraud, concealment of an injury to an animal, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
12.4 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) suspend the Groomer's assignments, in whole or in part; (c) cancel an Appointment or a booking; (d) suspend the Account or a program participation, in whole or in part; (e) terminate this Agreement and the Account; and (f) exercise any other right or remedy available under this Agreement or at law. Measures are applied to Groomers as the Groomer Conduct and Enforcement Policy states.
12.5 The Company may suspend the Groomer immediately, without prior notice and without a cure period, where the insurance required by Article 6 lapses, where a qualification or license relied on for activation lapses or is revoked, or where a risk to the safety of a person or an animal arises. The Company may hold disbursements to the Groomer while an investigation under this article is pending, and shall release amounts not required to satisfy the Groomer's obligations when the investigation closes.
12.6 The Groomer 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.
12.7 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 13: Term and Termination
13.1 This Agreement takes effect as clause 1.4 provides and continues until terminated under this article. Separation is administered under the Groomer Offboarding and Separation Policy.
13.2 The Company may terminate this Agreement and the Account on thirty (30) days' written notice for any reason, and immediately on written notice if the Groomer materially breaches this Agreement, engages in fraud, allows the insurance required by Article 6 to lapse, or becomes ineligible to participate.
13.3 The Groomer may terminate this Agreement on thirty (30) days' written notice to support@aapawz.com, provided the Groomer has no Appointment, booking, or investigation outstanding.
13.4 On termination: (a) the rights granted under this Agreement end, and the Groomer's access to Platform systems and Customer data is revoked the same day; (b) the Groomer shall complete or hand over every Appointment already booked as the Groomer Offboarding and Separation Policy directs, and shall return every item of Company property in the Groomer's possession; (c) obligations that arose before termination: including payment, refund, veterinary-cost, record-keeping, data, non-solicitation, and indemnification obligations: survive until satisfied; and (d) the Company shall disburse amounts owed, less amounts the Company may set off under this Agreement, within thirty (30) days, except amounts held in connection with an open investigation or dispute.
13.5 Termination of this Agreement ends the Groomer's status as a Marketplace Groomer. It does not convert the Groomer into a Salon Groomer or an employee, and any later participation in another mode requires a separate engagement under the documents governing that mode.
13.6 The Definitions, Insurance (for claims arising from the term), Animals in the Groomer's Care (for animals in custody during the term), Compensation (for accrued amounts), Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions articles survive termination.
Article 14: Dispute Resolution
14.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.
Article 15: General Provisions
15.1 The Company may amend this Agreement by posting the amended document in the Document Center and giving notice to the Groomer at the email address in the Account. An amendment that materially increases the Groomer's fees or obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued performance of Services booked through the Platform after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. If the Groomer does not accept an amendment, the Groomer's remedy is to terminate under the Term and Termination article before the amendment takes effect.
15.2 Legal notices under this document 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 the Groomer 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. The Groomer shall keep the email address in the Account current. Notices under the DMCA and Copyright Policy are given as provided in that policy, to the designated agent at legal@aapawz.com.
15.3 This document 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 document shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there.
15.4 If any provision of this document is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
15.5 This document, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Groomer for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral.
15.6 The Groomer shall not assign this document 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 document to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Groomer.
15.7 A waiver of any provision of this document is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
15.8 Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This document shall not be construed against a party as its drafter. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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