Last updated: 27 July 2026

Please read these terms. They set out what OnlyPaws does, what it does not do, and who is responsible when something goes wrong. Section 10 limits our liability and asks you to accept certain risks — it is written in bold for that reason and you should read it closely before agreeing.

1. Who we are

As required by section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002:

Registered name	ONLYPAWS (PTY) LTD
Legal status	Private company registered in South Africa
Registration number	2026/592019/07
Trading as	OnlyPaws
Registered address	16 Hall Road, Sea Point, Cape Town, Western Cape, 8005
Email	support@onlypaws.co.za
Website	https://onlypaws.co.za

In these terms, "OnlyPaws", "we" and "us" mean the company above. "You" means anyone using the app, whether as a dog owner or as a walker.

2. What OnlyPaws is — and is not

OnlyPaws is a marketplace. We connect dog owners with independent dog walkers, verify who those walkers are, and give you tools to follow a walk and communicate during it.

We do not walk dogs. When you book a walk, the agreement to walk your dog is between you and the walker. OnlyPaws is not a party to it. Walkers are independent contractors. They are not our employees or our agents, they choose when to work and which requests to accept, and we do not supervise how they carry out a walk.

This matters for who is responsible when something goes wrong, and section 10 explains it.

3. Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into contracts.

You must give accurate information and keep it current. You are responsible for what happens under your account, so keep your sign-in details to yourself.

Before you can request a walk or accept one, you must have a profile photo and a working phone number on your account. This is a safety requirement, not an administrative one: a stranger is meeting you at a home, and both sides need to know who they are looking for and how to reach each other if something goes wrong.

4. How we vet walkers, precisely

We want you to know exactly what our checks do and do not cover.

Before a walker can accept a single walk, they must complete all of the following:

1. Identity document verification. They photograph their South African ID (green book or Smart ID card). It is read and checked automatically against the official record through our verification provider.
2. Liveness check. Confirms a real person is in front of the camera rather than a photograph or a screen.
3. Face match. Their live selfie is matched against the photograph on the identity document, so a stolen or borrowed document does not get anyone through.
4. Proof of residence. A recent utility bill, bank statement or lease in their name.
5. Two references, with contact numbers, which we may follow up.
6. Manual review and approval by a person at OnlyPaws. No walker is activated automatically.

What we do not do. We do not conduct criminal record checks. A meaningful criminal check in South Africa legally requires fingerprints verified against SAPS through an accredited bureau, which takes days and costs money for every applicant. We have chosen to launch without it and to tell you so, rather than let you assume a check we do not perform. We intend to introduce it as we grow.

We also do not supervise walks, assess a walker's skill or judgement with animals, test their physical ability to control a particular dog, or verify that they hold any insurance.

Our checks confirm identity and address. They are not a prediction of behaviour. Passing them does not mean we guarantee a walker's conduct, competence or honesty, and you should not treat approval on OnlyPaws as such a guarantee.

5. If you are a dog owner

5.1 Tell the truth about your dog

You must give accurate and complete information about every dog you list, and you must keep it up to date. That specifically includes:

• Any history of biting, snapping, lunging, aggression or fear-aggression, toward people or other animals
• Whether the dog pulls, bolts, or has ever escaped a collar, harness or lead
• Medical conditions, medication, allergies, and anything a walker would need in an emergency
• Vaccination status, including rabies
• How the dog behaves around children, strangers, other dogs, cyclists and vehicles

Withholding or misstating this is the single most dangerous thing you can do on OnlyPaws. A walker decides whether to accept a walk based on what you have written. If you conceal a dog's history of aggression and someone is hurt, that is your responsibility, and section 10.4 sets out the indemnity that follows from it.

5.2 Equipment and legal compliance

You must provide a properly fitted collar or harness and a lead in sound condition, ensure your dog's vaccinations are current, and comply with all by-laws that apply where you live, including licensing, leashing and any breed-specific rules.

5.3 You remain the owner

You remain your dog's owner and keeper throughout the walk. Under South African law, the owner of a domesticated animal can be held liable for harm it causes even where nobody was at fault. Handing your dog to a walker for an hour does not transfer that to the walker or to us.

5.4 Access to your property

If you ask a walker to collect your dog from your home, you are responsible for arranging safe access and for anything you choose to share, such as a gate code or the location of a key. We recommend against giving out access details you would not be comfortable having in a stranger's possession.

6. If you are a walker

Walkers are also bound by the separate Walker Agreement, which you accept during onboarding. In summary, you confirm you are self-employed, you decide when to work and which requests to take, you are responsible for your own tax and your own insurance, and you must return the dog to the agreed place and tell the owner immediately if anything goes wrong.

7. Booking, tracking and cancelling

Requesting. You can request a walk immediately ("now") or schedule one. An immediate request goes to vetted walkers who are online nearby; a scheduled request can be claimed in advance and you choose from those who claim it.

No guarantee of availability. We cannot promise a walker will be available at any time or in any area. Nothing in the app is an offer capable of acceptance until a walker accepts.

Live tracking. Once a walk starts, the walker's device shares its location so you can follow along. This depends on the walker's phone, its battery and mobile signal. Tracking can fail, and a gap in the map does not by itself mean something is wrong.

Cancelling. Either side may cancel before a walk starts. A walker who has accepted a walk cannot go offline while it is still active — they must complete or cancel it — but this is a product safeguard, not a promise that no walker ever fails to arrive.

Reporting a problem. Either side can report a problem on any walk, and there is a support channel for anything not tied to a specific walk. Reports reach us directly.

8. Payments and tips

Payments are not yet live. At present, no money moves through OnlyPaws. Payment for a walk is arranged directly between the owner and the walker.

You can record a tip in the app when rating a walk. A recorded tip is an indication of intent only. It has not been collected and has not been paid to the walker. When payments launch we will tell you before anything is charged, and these terms will be updated.

9. Ratings, reviews and conduct

Owners and walkers rate each other after a walk. Reviews must be honest and based on your own experience. Do not post anything false, abusive, discriminatory or that identifies someone who is not a party to the walk.

Keep communication in the app. It keeps a record if there is a dispute, and it means neither side has to give out a personal phone number.

We may remove content, and suspend or close an account, where we reasonably believe these terms have been breached or someone's safety is at risk.

10. Risk, responsibility and our liability

10.1 The risk you are accepting

Dogs are animals and their behaviour cannot be guaranteed. Walking a dog carries real risks that no amount of vetting removes. A dog may:

• bite, scratch or injure a person or another animal
• slip a collar or lead, run off, or become lost
• be injured by a vehicle, another animal, or a hazard on the route
• become ill, collapse, or die from a pre-existing condition
• cause damage to property

You accept these risks knowingly when you use OnlyPaws.

10.2 What we are responsible for

We are responsible for providing the app itself with reasonable skill and care, for carrying out the vetting steps described in section 4, and for handling your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy.

10.3 What we are not responsible for

Because the walk is an agreement between you and the walker and not with us, we are not liable for the acts or omissions of any owner or any walker, including injury to a dog, injury to a person, a dog going missing, theft, or damage to property arising from a walk.

We are also not liable for failures of live tracking caused by a device, its battery, mobile network coverage or a third-party mapping service.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for gross negligence, for fraud or intentional misconduct, for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded under South African law — in particular section 51 of the Consumer Protection Act. Where any part of this section is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

Subject to the paragraph above, our total liability to you for any claim connected with OnlyPaws is limited to the greater of R10 000 and the total fees you have paid us in the twelve months before the claim arose.

10.4 Your indemnity to us

If you are a dog owner, you indemnify us against claims brought by a third party arising from your dog's behaviour during a walk, to the extent that the claim arises from information about your dog that you failed to disclose or misstated — most importantly a history of aggression or biting. This indemnity does not apply where the claim arises from our own gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

If you are a walker, your indemnity is set out in the Walker Agreement.

10.5 There is no insurance behind this

OnlyPaws does not currently provide any insurance cover for walks. Walkers are not covered by any policy of ours, and neither are owners or dogs. We do not verify whether a walker holds their own cover.

If you want cover for veterinary costs, third-party liability or theft, you need to arrange it yourself. We would rather say this plainly than have you assume a safety net exists. We are working on cover and will say so clearly if that changes.

11. Suspension and termination

You can stop using OnlyPaws and close your account at any time.

We may suspend or terminate an account where we reasonably believe these terms have been breached, where someone's safety or a dog's welfare is at risk, or where required by law. Where it is reasonable and lawful to do so, we will tell you why.

Some information survives account closure where we are required to keep it or need it to resolve a dispute. The Privacy Policy explains what and for how long.

12. Disputes

If something goes wrong, contact us first at support@onlypaws.co.za or through the in-app support channel. Most problems are resolved quickly that way.

Nothing here affects your right to refer a complaint to the National Consumer Commission or, for a privacy complaint, to the Information Regulator of South Africa.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For any change that materially affects your rights we will give reasonable advance notice in the app or by email. Continuing to use OnlyPaws after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

14. General

These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction.

If any provision is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in force.

These terms, together with the Privacy Policy and (for walkers) the Walker Agreement, are the whole agreement between us about your use of OnlyPaws.