Welcome To ACADA
Welcome to ACADA. We wrote our Terms of Service to the same standard we expect from our curriculum, public standards, and professional records for an important, growing industry. We do not hide our terms, and we do not use confusing language to bury important responsibilities.
We want you safe. We also require you to clearly accept responsibility for your own actions in a trade that includes sharp tools, mechanical devices, chemicals, water, electricity, vehicles, clients, workplaces, and live animals. Pet grooming is a serious intersection of all of these things. You are the first line of defense for your own protection, the protection of the animals in your care, and the protection of the people around you.
Your Agreement
These Terms govern your use of the websites, education, curriculum, standards materials, assessments, advisor review, memberships, public records, profiles, review tools, business services, and related systems operated by American Canine and Animal Dressing Academy ("ACADA," "we," "our," or "us"). By using ACADA, creating an account, enrolling, joining as a business, submitting information, publishing a profile, using review tools, or continuing after the cookie and Terms notice appears, you agree to these Terms.
What ACADA Is
ACADA is an education, standards, credential-record, business-membership, profile, portfolio, and support system for the pet grooming and animal care community. ACADA may provide curriculum, PET Track training, public standards, credential numbers, certificates, advisor review, professional profiles, business profiles, client review tools, business membership services, student pathways, learning records, and public-facing industry information.
ACADA exists to help raise professional understanding, make training more visible, support career development, help businesses communicate standards, and give the public clearer signals about grooming education and responsible practice.
What ACADA Is Not
ACADA is not a government agency, licensing board, veterinary provider, law firm, insurer, employer, franchisor, workplace supervisor, safety inspector, emergency service, or guarantor of any person, animal, business, service, outcome, or event. ACADA does not give you permission to perform work that you are not legally, physically, practically, ethically, or professionally prepared to perform. And to be very clear, ACADA also does not give you permission to perform work that you are legally, physically, practically, ethically, or professionally prepared to perform. ACADA's standards are not the final decision, guidepost or determining factor how you exercise judgment, as interpretation of any standard is subject to your judgment, skill, awareness and competency at any given time. ACADA openly publishes our documentation as living standards subject to community commentary and improvement. We openly publish all of our standards for even pet owners to see. We actively seek every possible avenue to improve our training, and it is provided on a caveat emptor basis.
The Trade Is Serious
Pet grooming and animal care involve animals with known and unknown danger profiles. Animals may bite, scratch, panic, collapse, escape, overheat, suffer stress, react unpredictably, injure themselves, injure people, or present medical, behavioral, age-related, breed-related, coat-related, skin-related, respiratory, cardiac, orthopedic, neurological, or other risks.
The work also involves tools and environments with known and unknown danger profiles, including blades, shears, clippers, grooming arms, restraints, tables, tubs, dryers, electrical devices, chemicals, shampoos, disinfectants, water, floors, vehicles, confined spaces, lifting, repetitive movement, noise, heat, and client property. These can cut, burn, crush, puncture, abrade, shock, poison, strain, trip, fall, frighten, injure, or kill people or animals when used poorly, used in the wrong setting, used without proper maintenance, or used on the wrong animal.
Your Absolute Responsibility
You are solely, entirely, and personally responsible for every action you take in grooming, animal care, animal handling, restraint, bathing, drying, clipping, scissoring, tool use, chemical use, transportation, client service, business operation, training, employment, mobile service, salon service, franchise service, or any related activity.
ACADA materials do not move those risks from you to ACADA. You accept full responsibility for your judgment, preparation, supervision, legal compliance, tool selection, animal handling, client communication, emergency planning, insurance, business policies, and decision to perform, pause, modify, or refuse any service.
Education Is Not Permission
ACADA education, credentials, certificates, standards, advisor comments, public records, profiles, business memberships, reviews, and portfolio tools are not permission to practice. They are not proof that you can safely perform every task. They do not replace live instruction, direct supervision, employer training, apprenticeship, product labels, equipment manuals, veterinary guidance, legal advice, insurance requirements, local law, workplace policy, or your own duty to stop when something is unsafe.
If you do not know how to safely perform a task, do not perform it until you have appropriate instruction, supervision, equipment, consent, legal authority, emergency planning, and animal-specific judgment.
No Safety Or Outcome Guarantee
ACADA does not guarantee competence, safety, legal compliance, insurability, employment, business success, animal welfare outcomes, client satisfaction, review outcomes, income, career results, or freedom from injury, loss, complaint, claim, discipline, or liability. A credential, certificate, membership, profile, review, lesson completion, or public record is not a guarantee of future conduct or safe performance.
Stop When Unsafe
You must stop, pause, refuse, or seek help whenever an animal, person, tool, chemical, device, environment, instruction, request, deadline, client demand, business pressure, or grooming plan is unsafe or beyond your ability. You are responsible for recognizing your limits. ACADA would rather see a service refused than see a person or animal harmed.
Professional Advice And Emergency Care
ACADA does not provide veterinary diagnosis, medical advice, legal advice, tax advice, insurance advice, licensing advice, or regulatory compliance advice. Any discussion of veterinary boundaries, insurance, law, documentation, safety, policy, or business practice is educational and general. You must consult qualified veterinarians, attorneys, insurers, accountants, regulators, product manufacturers, instructors, employers, and other appropriate professionals for advice specific to your animal, client, business, location, equipment, policy, or situation.
Businesses, Mobile Operations, Franchises, And Schools
Every salon, mobile groomer, franchise, school, employer, contractor, and business remains solely responsible for its staff, trainees, clients, animals, services, advertising, employment practices, safety rules, facilities, vehicles, sanitation, equipment, insurance, legal compliance, and outcomes. ACADA business membership does not make ACADA the operator, employer, franchisor, insurer, supervisor, manager, or guarantor of that business.
Business and practitioner profile connections may require mutual approval and may be corrected, hidden, ended, moderated, or refused when information appears inaccurate, unauthorized, unsafe, misleading, disputed, unpaid, or inconsistent with ACADA standards or operations.
Your Content And Public Records
You are responsible for the accuracy, legality, consent, privacy, and rights connected to anything you submit to ACADA. This includes names, photos, logos, reviews, portfolio work, animal images, client information, business details, service descriptions, profile text, credentials, employment claims, affiliations, and support requests.
ACADA may assign credential numbers, maintain public or private records, issue certificates, display profile information, publish review summaries, and show business or professional affiliations. ACADA may correct, suspend, revoke, hide, annotate, moderate, or refuse records and content when needed for accuracy, safety, privacy, legal compliance, payment status, standards integrity, or ACADA operations.
Reviews And Feedback
ACADA may provide review capture, feedback, profile, portfolio, comment, and support tools. Reviews and profiles are informational only. They do not prove future conduct, safety, compliance, animal handling ability, client satisfaction, or service quality. ACADA may moderate, remove, restore, flag, review, or decline content at its discretion.
Account Rules
- Provide accurate information and keep it current.
- Protect your login and do not share account access without authorization.
- Do not misrepresent ACADA credentials, membership, training progress, certificates, profile status, reviews, employment, business affiliation, or public records.
- Do not submit or publish false, defamatory, private, confidential, infringing, abusive, unlawful, unsafe, or misleading content.
- Obtain every needed permission, release, image right, review permission, client consent, employment authorization, and business authorization before submitting or publishing content.
Payments, Memberships, And Access
Unless otherwise stated, ACADA does not collect payment through the public website. Memberships, invoices, scholarships, discounts, renewals, access, and services may be handled by email, phone, invoice, administrator process, or other ACADA-approved method. Rates, services, eligibility, and access may change. Access may depend on account status, membership status, payment status, business affiliation, administrative review, or compliance with these Terms.
Cookies And Privacy
ACADA uses cookies, session technology, security cookies, and browser local storage to operate the site. Selecting the cookie acknowledgment button confirms that you accept cookies and agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy. Continued use of the site after notice also indicates acceptance.
Disclaimer Of Warranties
ACADA services and materials are provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent permitted by law, ACADA disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, non-infringement, safety, uninterrupted access, error-free operation, legal compliance, insurability, employability, business outcome, animal outcome, or professional result.
Limitation Of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, ACADA and its owners, officers, directors, employees, advisors, contractors, contributors, administrators, and affiliates are not liable for injury, death, animal injury, animal death, property damage, business loss, lost profits, lost data, reputational harm, legal claims, insurance denial, employment outcome, client dispute, service failure, or any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from ACADA, ACADA-related records, or participation in grooming, animal care, training, business, profile, review, or public-record activity.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ACADA and its owners, officers, directors, employees, advisors, contractors, contributors, administrators, and affiliates from claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses arising from your actions, omissions, services, business operations, animal handling, tool use, training activity, content submissions, profile information, reviews, legal violations, client disputes, employment disputes, or misuse of ACADA services.
Changes, Suspension, And Termination
ACADA may update, suspend, limit, refuse, or terminate access, records, profiles, memberships, credentials, certificates, reviews, comments, or services at any time when needed for safety, integrity, legal compliance, operations, nonpayment, misuse, or standards protection. ACADA may update these Terms, and continued use after updates means acceptance.
Contact
Questions about these Terms may be submitted through ACADA support.