I took my six month old healthy kitten here to be neutered. Their incompetent vet, Dr. creese, killed him with an overdose of anesthesia that she administered with a stickpoke without weighing him. When, while quite upset, we went to get his body, the front staff, a woman named Chesney rolled her eyes and laughed at us as we cried and waited for his body. Dr. Creese shoved his body at us and said 'you can leave now'. The president of the board, who is in a personal relationship with the vet that killed our cat, lied and claimed her staff was 'too busy' to show compassion while we waited for his body. She defended the fact that the vet overdosed my cat and murdered him. The entire staff and organization are heartless, corrupt and horrible people. Do not take your beloved pets here or they will be murdered and the staff will abuse you after they murder your pets. read more

This is a much needed service and I commend anyone who rescues animals. However, the follow up appointments for your pet are ONLY 12-2 on Monday through Thursday. I called to reschedule my dogs date/time for her last vaccine. I was immediately attacked and berated by not one, but two employees. I was floored by the immediate, unexpected over the top rudeness. We'll follow up with our own vet and won't ever again recommend supporting this rescue. read more

Wonderful facility. Staff and volunteers are all wonderful people. They care not only about rescuing the animals but also take care of their volunteers. They're an honest and thorough facility which is hard to find in the rescue world. I have met several of the rescue dogs and they're all great dogs and healthy. Can't say enough good things about them. read more

I adopted a puppy named Keagan from St. Francis on March 5th. On February 19th I went there and picked Keagan out. I was told to call on 02/21/22 to put a deposit down and hold Keagan and that he was my dog and removed from the site. I called on 02/22/22 to put a $100 deposit down on him. During that call the worker told me that he could not leave the shelter until 03/01/22 and would not be neutered until 16 weeks. Keagan was 10 weeks at the time. On 03/01/22 I received a call that Keagan was neutered and doing fine. I was totally confused and questioned why he was neutered at 11 weeks and not waited until the 16 weeks like I was previously told. I went to pick Keagan on 03/05/22 and I was shocked to see that he not only was neutered but his double rear paw declaws were removed. Keagan reeked of rotting flesh and the vet tech told me that his stitching had broken and he hadn't had a bath. I was sent home with him having open wounds on his paws and no medication. I spent a 1.5 hr drive with my face mask on because he smelled so bad. When I got him home his paws smelled worse and the next day I ended up taking him to Hawthorne vet hospital in Glen Carbon, IL. The vet there stated that Keagan had an infection in the wounds and had it before I left the shelter with him. I spent literally over $500 at the vet hospital because I was given a puppy that was unnecessarily operated on. I called St. Francis on 03/08/22 and was told that dr. Kay Creese will give me a call. I called St. Francis again on 03/11/22 and left another message for dr. Creese. I finally received a call from dr. Creese and she was very rude. I explained that I did not want Keagan's double rear declaws removed and did not know that they were going to be removed and all she had was excuses and lies. She stated that she always removes double declaws and that if there was an issue then I should have called them on Sunday 03/06/22 when they were closed. she had no remorse about what she had done to my poor puppy. On top of an unnecessary operation his poop was never checked by dr. Creese and he has a parasite. I was told by dr. Creese that even though I put a deposit down for this puppy that he was not considered mine until I signed the paperwork. Then what is the point of a deposit for a puppy? Now a $300 dog adoption has turned into a $1000.00 due to St. Francis' poor care for these animals. On the bright side I am glad that I saved Keegan from this place. I feel so bad for his siblings that are still there waiting on adoption. PLEASE BEWARE OF THIS PLACE!!!!! read more

If I could give this facility a 0, I would!! Here is a little story about my experience with St. Francis. I have been actively looking to adopt a kitten for close to a month now. When I found Pig, aka Cotton Tail, I knew he was the perfect fit. He was available for adoption at St. Francis Care Animal Shelter in Murphysboro Illinois, 2 hours away. I adopted Pig on Monday, March 19th. When I arrived at the shelter I was never able to hold Pig before completing the documents. They brought him out and put him right in the carrier. I brought him home and he was active and playful. However, I did notice he had a little cough but thought it was him adjusting to the new atmosphere. His cough persisted and by Wednesday, I emailed the shelter describing his symptoms and ask for advice. They never responded. By Friday morning, Pig was in bad shape. I called the shelter where I adopted him and described his symptoms (the same symptoms I had described in the unanswered email) and also asked if any of Pig's brothers or sisters were also sick. The woman put me on hold and a couple minutes later told me I could swing by the shelter and pick up some antibiotics for him. Keep in mind that I am 2 hours away, so 'swinging by the shelter' wasn't a feasible option. I asked if they had partner shelters or a vet in my area that they could call in the medicine for or if they could mail it to me, they told me "no, we don't do that kind of thing". At this point I am extremely frustrated and worried about my poor Pig. I begin calling vet's in my area and was told to bring him in immediately. After his check up and chest x-rays, I was informed that Pig was in extremely bad shape and had a severe case of pneumonia. The doctor gave him some fluids, some antibiotic drops and got him to eat a little bit. The end outcome was a 50/50 chance of survival. I took him back home and followed the doctor's orders. Pig and I went back to the vet Saturday afternoon for some more fluids and to check on his progress. We were able to syringe feed him 5 ML of food at this point. We then went back home and continued the doctor's orders. By Sunday morning, Pig was breathing out of his mouth and taking very slow, breaths. He was wheezing and having trouble breathing. I took him to the animal hospital where they placed him on oxygen. At this point, I was informed that it would cost on the upper side of $800 to give him the help he needed and even then, there was no guarantee that he would make it. He was struggling really hard to breath and the fluid in his lungs had reached a point where he was no longer getting enough oxygen to function. He was dying. I had to make the most difficult choice of my life to end Pig's suffering. They brought him into the room and I held him in my arms as he took his last breath. I am extremely upset with St. Francis for allowing me to adopt a sick kitten. I took 2.5 days off work and spent over $500 to do everything I could do help Pig pull through. I had him for a total of 6 days before he passed. It is absolutely amazing how quick I fell in love with him. I can only hope that Pig's siblings are not going through this awful sickness as Pig did. When I called St. Francis to talk to them after Pig's death, I ultimately got the run around. I sent them an email containing copies from both vets, x-rays of Pig's lungs showing the amount of fluids they contained, videos of Pig coughing and struggling to breath and screen shots of the emails that went unanswered. The DMV/Executive Director, Dr. Kay Creese, was extremely rude and lacked empathy in my situation. After all, it was her inability to accurately check the health of their animals before adoption. If anyone paid attention to Pig while he was in the shelter you would have been able to notice his cough! I noticed it hours after adoption! The two vets that saw Pig both agreed that he had been sick for a while. By the end of the conversation with Dr. Kay Creese, she had begun accusing me of lying and hung up on me. She told me it was my fault the kitten got sick and I'm responsible for the vet bills. St. Francis advocates and pushes for education for responsible pet owners. What about education on proper animal care? After doing my own investigating I realized that this was NOT the first time that Dr. Kay Creese has been accused of malpractice. https://www.thepetitionsite.com/747/563/249/animal-malpractice-dr.-kay-creese/ I want justice for my kitten and for all of the other poor animals that have fell victim to Dr. Creese's awful care. If you have been victimized by St. Francis Care or by Dr. Creese, please contact me! Together we can have a voice and get justice our loved fur babies. read more

Wonderful shelter. The staff truly cares about animals, and puts their needs above all else!

From the outside, this place seems fine, but they have been shut down multiple times for health issues and they are constantly losing dogs to parvo. The first cat I got from there died a few months later due to a disease he had picked up while he was a kitten there. Absolutely heartbreaking and not the first cat I've heard of that happening to. I also have adopted a dog from here and the poor thing had had worms the entire time she was there without anyone there realizing it and treating her. She was there for months, and I noticed the day I brought her home. Too many health problems, go somewhere else if you want a healthy animal. read more