Saint Francis Veterinary Specialists

Service here is excellent. It’s not cheap, but then again, there isn’t really an affordable option when it comes to pets. For what it’s worth, they tried their best to try to diagnose our cat with what information was available. In the end, it was one knowledgable vet that happen to encounter or know about rare reactions to vaccines that was able to figure out what was wrong with our cat.
They’re open 24 hours a day, so sometimes you don’t have any other options, but at least its not a bad one.

It’s odd that the line for 5 stars is «As good as it gets!» since I really don’t like this place. I don’t like it because it’s an emergency vet hospital and all of my dealings have been expensive and sad. That being said, this business earned 5 stars and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again. I just hope I don’t have to.
They’re open 24 hours a day and my pets have been seen right away. It’s expensive but in-​line with every other vet I’ve used. The doctors and staff have always been great and any charges were explained in advance, no surprises. I hope to never walk through the doors at St. Francis’s again but if my pet needs it, they’re the first place I call.

Had to go here twice in one year now for cat emergency and both times the care was impeccable and I got a much better feeling kitty back. Dr O’Neil is a a true veterinarian — she clearly loves and cares for animals, is knowledgeable and took time to talk to me both times to explain everything and answer my questions.
Great place I trust with my precious animal family.

My precious dog was admitted into Saint Francis back in May 2015. She had a treat lodged in her throat and then developed Aspiration Pneumonia. I can’t even begin to express how traumatic this was for me to see my dog this ill, there was a day there where I thought she was going to have to be put to sleep, but thankfully that didn’t need to happen.
The Veterinarian’s (especially Dr O’Neill) were AMAZING! Not only did they save her life, they treated me with the utmost respect and compassion during her week long stay. Whenever I called in the middle of the night to check on her, they were so accommodating… even at 2am :). Also, when my little girl came home, they followed up with me regularly and Dr O’Neill would always call me back if I had questions. If I ever have an emergency in future (hopefully not), I will be there without hesitation.

Don’t be fooled! So many of the good reviews are YEARS old and IMO new good reviews seem fake. This hospital schemed me and others!!!
I’d suggest to find another hospital if you value the life of your pet. This hospital has a bad rep with good vets because of their practices.
I was recommended here and they said my baby had intestinal cancer and they needed to do a VERY EXPENSIVE surgery right away. My baby was not only 13 but had a heart murmur and I insisted this was a HORRIBLE idea. The staff told me she could die within 6 weeks if I didn’t do it. In my opinion, this was a LIE just so they could get as much money from me as possible (and The vet tech also PROMISED me that everything would be fine and they’d done this before). Unfortunately I didn’t know that until after the procedure when my cat had a heart failure and ultimately died due to their actions. They gave a boatload of reasons («it would have happened eventually») but again specialist vets refuted their claims and all she had was a MILD CASE OF IBS!!! (by looking at the X-​rays St Francis took!) and she wasn’t Maine coon (they told me this was the reason she had heart failure). They LIED to me to get MONEY and didn’t even care that they killed my child. And if the law didn’t look at animals as property I would have had this place shut down, but I can’t even sue them for the 15k I spent on her healthcare and I lost my child and the only love I had in my life. They might as well have killed me too.
The doctor, Dr. McCown even ADMITTED SHE MADE A MISTAKE to my primary vet. But the owner, Dr Smallwood still stood by her.
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO PUT THE LIFE OF YOUR LOVED ONES IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE THAT DO EXPENSIVE UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES THAT KILL THEM AND ALL THEY CAN SAY IS THEY MADE A MISTAKE???
Icing on the cake was they still tried to collect the money from me from when I took her back in right after the surgery once I realized she’d had heart failure. They charged me for their mistake too! My first thought was when I walked in was they saw two opportunities to squeeze me dry.

One Saturday recently my cat was passing blood in her urine. She kept walking around the house constantly peeing blood on the floor. I have hardwoods so the color is unmistakable. I brought her in to be examined. The vet came out and informed me that there was no sign of blood on her and I must be mistaken and started explaining to me what bloody urine really looks since I seem to not know. (I too have had that experience) I asked her to draw some out and examine it. She did so and brought the syringe out and put it up in my face saying, «See! No blood» in a very confrontational manner. I asked her to look at it under a microscope. She sent a tech out to inform me that it was chock full of red blood cells. In fact, I never saw the vet again as I guess she couldn’t face me after being so incredibly rude to me. The tech was very nice and she sent me home with some antibiotics and some pain meds. 3 months later my cat died with because of her Lymphoma. After a few months have gone by I just now have been able to tell my story. Not only was she THAT rude and disrespectful to a parent of a terminally ill cat she also smelled very badly. As in unbathed for a couple of days, not like animals. If you have an emergency and this is the closest animal hospital near you then you won’t have a choice but if you have time seek other options.

I will scream from the top of my lungs… if you need specialized or emergency care for your pet, GO HERE! My dog recently got attached by an unleashed dog in our neighborhood. We rushed him to Saint Francis where he was cared for promptly and professionally! They were responsive at any hour of the day with my questions and concerns (believe me, I had them at all hours!). The staff is friendly and kind and truly care for the recovery of my dog. FIVE STARS… highly recommend!

The staff and vets are compassionate, attentive, and got the job done on each of our 2 after-​hours visits. Grateful for their care and availability when we needed them! Both visits, we left with the tests and information we needed to know what to look out for and what follow up we needed.
4 stars, not 5, because:
This time, the staff put another patient’s bloodwork into our discharge packet, not ours… presumably they put our info into their packet. Needless to say, this is not professional; I want to share our labwork with the primary vet and family, not other patients. If this were a human patient this would never fly! I know this and other vets strive to provide the best patient care for our pets and will want to improve.
As of the more recent visit (either it was significantly more noticeable than our previous visit, or it’s new since then), the facility used fragrance plug-​ins. Given it’s a health facility — and particularly, a specialty/​emergency vet whose patients’ livers/​systems more likely than not already are overtaxed/​overworked — it would make much more sense to use a fragrance free enzyme-​based deodorizer like Airzyme rather than fragrance which requires all of our livers to process additional toxins in the hours/​days/​weeks following exposure. If you and/​or your pet are chemically sensitive, beware!
Update: On our following visit, the staff worked with us to remove the fragrance plug-​ins in advance of the visit! Thank you, thank you. There was still lingering fragrance — as it takes time to fully detox — and it made a huge difference.

They are open 24 hours and a less expensive alternative to the Village Vet of Decatur. Their facilities are large and the owner of the practice not only returns calls but is sincere and compassionate.

It’s never a good thing to have to review a 24 hour care vet due to the circumstances that get you and your furry baby there but having said that I really could not be happier with my first, and hopefully only! (no offense), experience with Saint Francis. My dog was so well cared for and genuinely loved that it made a highly stressful situation much easier. In particular I really appreciate that I was heard by the docs and techs. I felt a part of the process and was very impressed with this. So not my experience at other emergency vets — GVS in particular.

While St. Francis has a good reputation, my experience was nothing less than painful. My 20 year old cat who had multiple health problems, was having seizures on Saturday. This was nothing new. My vet had worked with me to provide care at home and I gave her IV fluids and did what I could. But we made the decision to euthanize her because she was improving and the seizures were happening more frequently.
My own vet was closed. I called St. Francis and explained the situation. I was clear that our intention was to euthanize the cat. I was asked to bring her in as a specific time to assure a vet would be available.
I took her to St. Francis arriving at the appointed time. I was given no forms to sign or any information. I was clear in stating to the two people at the desk that we were there to euthanize the cat. We were taken quickly to an exam room. Shortly after, two other staff came in and told us they were taking the cat to the treatment area to treat her — that is was clear that she needed to be treated immediately. I stated that we were there to euthanize her. They were insistent that treatment was required. I said that I didn’t sign any papers to authorize them to treat her nor was I giving verbal consent. The man stepped back. The woman began to speak and began by introducing herself. (Before that, I had no idea who they were.) She said that she had not been informed by the front desk why we were there. She said that the front desk should have explained the procedure and provided the paperwork. They had not. She examined the cat and said that if it was our decision to euthanize the cat, an IV line should be inserted and the cat should be given valium to stop the seizure so that she was more comfortable. I agreed, but was clear that no other treatment should be done.
The cat was taken and brought back in a few minutes. Still no paper work.
The vet came in and said that the front desk explained the procedure. I said they did not nor had I filled out any forms. The vet explained the procedure. I said that’s fine, I understood — but was clear I wanted to fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay the bill before the procedure so that I could focus on my cat while she passed. The nurse went and got the paper work I needed to complete. While I was completing it, the vet went ahead and administered the drugs announcing, «She’s gone» while I was filling out the paper work. I was dumbfounded.
I was asked, «Did you want time with your cat?» I said yes. No more than 90 seconds later someone came in and asked, «Are you done or do you need more time?» I said I wanted more time.
It was so insensitive and confusing that I can’t believe it happened. I was there with my spouse and we both felt like we had been rushed thru for the fee.
I will never return to St. Francis and would never recommend them as a vet. For the record, my regular vet is Dearborn Animal Hospital. Since I moved to Atlanta three years ago, Dearborn has been great.

I am very grateful the doctors were able to save the lives of my two dogs after they ingested an entire bottle of Rimadyl. We were treated with compassion upon check in and received regular calls with updated info on their condition. This level of service is to be expected from an emergency care facility.
I was displeased, however, with the injury one of my dogs sustained while in-​patient and the subsequent way this injury was dealt with from staff. She apparently nudged her e-​collar against the cage so many times that she rubbed a large spot on her neck raw. I was not surprised by this at all because she had extreme separation anxiety. What was surprising was that she was prescribed a topical steroid that is toxic when licked (I had TWO dogs inpatient at the facility) and I was charged for the medication.
When I returned to pick up some toys the next day I spoke with the nurse on duty about the situation and was told I would receive a call later in the day since they were busy at the time. I never received any follow up at all, not even on their condition after the toxicity treatment. This left me with the impression that once you pay, they really don’t care…
This combined with the way I was rushed at check-​out really left me upset. The nurse who checked me out flew threw how to administer a total of 6 medications and then as i was walking out handed me a box of liver medication and told me she’d forgotten about that one… that was the most important one in my opinion since it was their liver levels that were quite high.
Since I brought my concerns to them and was promised a follow up but never received so much as a phone call, I have to give 1 star. If I am ever in a situation again where my dogs need emergency care, I will go elsewhere.
O o
/

These folks are extremely committed to patient care. But, I’m writing this review with mixed feelings. On one hand, I want to say that the care they provided my pooch was definitely five star service. I am CERTAIN he was in the hands of consummate professionals that cared a lot about him personally. I’m sure the treatment my dog received was top notch and he got the best medical care available. The office is a pleasure to visit — in fact, it is much more like visiting a high-​end spa than a vet hospital. You can expect a diet coke in the waiting room and a lot of personalized service.
On the other hand — I feel like I was being gently pressured into diagnostic medical treatment I’m not sure my dog absolutely needs in the long term. I was told that he needs a spendy test — something that costs 6x as much as our annual vet exam — every three months for the rest of his life. However, they also told me that he is totally asymptomatic (no meds/​treatment appropriate) and there is a decent chance he will still be very healthy all the rest of his life. However, to be able to catch the issue if it occurs, I should spend $$$ (about 50% of my monthly rent, and I live in a decent place) every four months. Not much of a sense how likely it was to happen or how important this was to have — and indeed, several other tests were recommended at the same time without much more of a sense of their utility other than they would further focus the diagnosis. The extra tests would also need to be done every 3 months and would increase my cost from 50% of my monthly rent to 80% of my monthly rent. I declined.
So — I’m torn on this. Would I/​will I take my pooch back? In a heartbeat. Am I entirely sure that I needed to do this test for my dog? Yes. Do I think he needs to be checked up on every three months? I just don’t know. I’ll talk again to my primary vet, but for the handsome fee I paid St. Francis I would have appreciated a bit more clarity in my decision-​making.

Really impressed by the professional staff, modern facility and reasonable prices. I hope that we don’t have to come back, but if we do, we’ll be in good hands.

My dog suffers from acute epilepsy, for the most part it’s under control with meds and regular check-​ups but every once in awhile. it gets pretty bad for him: enter emergency veterinary centers.
We decided not to go back to the VCA (
) — it was just too expensive and a bit too far considering the situation. This hospital was recommended by our regular vet and it’s a lot closer — thankfully. As soon as we arrived they took care of my puppy immediately. The vet on staff is great, he updated us regularly for the two hours we were there and explained everything thoroughly. He even printed out pamphlets of information for us to take home.
The bill was still quite a bit but definitely way less than the VCA and I feel that they did for more for him here. The staff was still even willing to further bring down the costs — cutting out everything that wasn’t a necessity.
Despite the circumstances, I was quite impressed by the space — it doesn’t resemble your typical veterinary hospital, it’s chic, clean, and welcoming; there were charming pieces of car and dog themed art pieces throughout the clinic (which were oddly calming to me LOL). Unfortunately St. Francis is mainly for specialties and emergencies — otherwise we’d have a new regular vet!

We went there to take our Boston Terrier after my husband arrived home from work to find vomit and dark bloody loose stool in her crate. I called our regular vet and described the symptoms and she said to take her to St. Francis immediately. The diagnosis was correct (Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis) and she was treated with IV fluids and discharged w/​prescriptions and mild food. They were SO nice, good customer service, quick, and thorough. I know people complain about cost a lot, but this is Atlanta — and it’s a 24 hour full service vet. A lot of that cost is convenience. I’d say it’s well worth it for the clean, nice facilities, the good customer service, and being able to trust them with your animal. Well done!

Impressed wouldn’t even begin to describe my experience here. My 4 month old Siberian kitten Nooshie was urinating blood, in pain and clearly had a uti. When I called to see if I should bring her in, the lady at the front desk was so sweet and kind she made me feel like my worry was warranted and I wasn’t just a crazy cat lady.
She greeted me at the door, and offered me a drink and food after I mentioned the busy day I’d been having. It was an unnecessary kindness that will make me a forever client of theirs. She is a gem!
I was immediately put into a room with two of the nicest vets anyone could ask for. After talking, the head vet even gave me info on my other cats urethral disease, just so I could be more educated on it.
The other vet took the time to explain the charges to me in detail before they did any tests or treatment. He even offered to walk her carrier to the car for me. It was nice to be in an emergency clinic where your pet isn’t just a number in the machine. They actually care, and you can see it immediately.
After running on zero sleep and a long work day, they took what could have been an extremely stressful situation and made it pleasant and relaxed. Nanushka and I both left very happy, and now my little gal is running around like her wild little self again.

We have 5 foster kittens right now and last night one of them was bubbling from the mouth and had discharge coming from his eyes and mouth. We rushed him to St. Francis were they helped us right away. Dr. Quinlan explained everything so well, was willing to work with us due to our financial situation, and got the kitten ready to come home within an hour. The receptionist was also very friendly and helped us feel more at ease while we waited. In an emergency situation they are a great resource to have.

Echoing what everyone else says — they are so great! Some things that make them stand out, apart from other surgery places for animals:
— SO nice… everyone is SO nice. Never seem flustered or ready to be rid of you.
— Computer system … so nice that every room is connected. Your nurse in an exam room can see in 5 seconds if the front desk was able to find you a time slot and book you, without having to run up the hall
— SO nice… did I say that already? Not just to the humans, but of course, to the animals as well. I like to think everyone loves my dog as much as I… but I’m realistic!
— Referred to by OTHER vets… my regular vet had NO hestitation at sending me to them when the procedure needed was beyond his scope. After I met with them and stopped back by my vet, he had NO hesitation in agreeing with their findings. They shared data back and forth SO quickly and efficiently
(If only human health care agencies coordinated that well and quickly!!)
— Good location. Kinda easy to miss it — — but it’s in a convenient location on Dekalb Industrial near L’ville Hwy. Kinda across from Camp Woof. It’s around back of the building it’s in — easy to miss their little sign. But — plenty of easy parking and in-​and-​out. Good to have when you’re hauling a larger dog.

You know you love your Dog when you become «The Duke» of a Veterinary Hospital!!!
Back again as my best friend needed another surgery. Just like his surrogate father, basically old farts start to fall apart and need an overhaul once in awhile.
Poor little fella had a mass from his chest to back, Or as Dr. Newton describes «Multiple Subcutaneous Masses on left shoulder and thorax» yeah, something like that. In layman’s terms he was a little lumpy becoming the Hunchback of of Notre Dog!
I cannot give enough props to Saint Francis. From having dogs as a little tike in the West Virginia hills to my Schnoodle and CavaPoo in the Atlanta metro burbs I have had my share of Vets. Hands down this is the most professional, caring, establishment I have ever encountered.
Keep in mind this is not your standard Vet center, they are surgical specialist. This in my opinion is a serious location. In people terms, I go to my internist for my standard checkups and my cardiologist for my heart. Same goes here. DVM for your dogs shots, teeth cleaning, etc., and Saint Francis for surgery, treatments, etc.
In closing, if you love your dog or cat and need a specialist, then this is the place to be.