Five Acres Animal Shelter Review

5 acres takes the right approach to find forever homes and forever family's.

Met Frank and made him part of the family. I call him Frankenstein now though because I hate this guy named Frank at my workplace.

Truly blessed to have this great dog

This shelter is not in the business of adopting pets. They are in the business of destroying hearts. We lost one of our dogs less than 2 weeks ago. My wife was attached to her more than she has EVER been attached to another animal. After my wife is ready to get another dog, she finds Layla on the 5 acres web site. We go in, apply, and are approved in all respects. References were called, apartment was verified on if we could have Layla, and did two meet and greets. My wife by this time has fallen head over heels for Layla. She even looked a lot like our other dog that we had lost less than 2 weeks prior. 1 day before Layla was to come home with us, 5 acres calls and tells us that we are denied because our other dog was not spayed which we should have been informed of this policy from the get go.
Thank you 5 acres for destroying my wife's heart less than 2 weeks after it was destroyed by losing her pride and joy. My wife spent the next 2 hours crying her eyes out

In response to the reply I received, all information about what happened is in my review. I understand you may not have been with them at the time, but what happened was completely and utterly inexcusable

The animals are in good environs and treated well. The staff takes good care of them. As others have noted, though, the shelter does not do a good job communicating with potential adopters. Instead of a rejection via voice mail (after reading our very short application their employee completed), the shelter should have had a conversation with us to address some of their concerns. We've had dogs before. Plenty of dogs need loving homes. We'll find another shelter that's easier to work with.

I called about my puppy pit bull that can not move with us due to the BSL in that county. The lady was so dry and uninterested in what I had to say it has completely upset me. To work in such an amazing place I d like to think the staff would be more interested in knowing more then sounding bored listening to you. No questions asked just hmmm. Not impressed at all and beyond disappointed.

Wonderful place to adopt cats. They have separate rooms for cats and kittens, where the cats are able to roam freely.

Horrible customer service. Front desk lady was so rude. I walked in and walked right back out

Adopted a wonderful dog from this shelter. Staff is incredible and they all have hearts for animals. The whole process went perfect and the staff went out of their way to make us comfortable. Wonderful organization!

This place. ReFuKindiculace. They are Liars. They don't answer the phone. They are rude!!! Was given the number for the executive director left a message with no response. Next step is reporting then to the better business bureau.

This place is amazing, all the animal well fed and taken care of and also given plenty of love love,care and attention by both staff and volunteers.

Very neat to see the kitties be able to somewhat roam about. And on nice days have a safe enclosed but protected screens for fresh air to come through. Ideal birdie watching for sure.

Amazing staff and beautiful shelter! Kitty cottage is my absolute favorite!!

They do not know how to approach people. They force you to adopt 2 kittens to even "qualify". Then they sent an email immediately after our conversation of me saying I will look elsewhere, saying I was declined. Completely unnecessary, and actually bizarre.

Not only do they take donations...but they offer food and other supplies that are available for those that are financially struggling

This place is truly awesome!!! So far I've been there twice. They are just fantastic. Taking another one of my fosters to them this week!!!

The dogs get homes very quickly and they are treated with love and care. Visitors can play with them for awhile and brighten up their day. The kittens are kept all together and not in cages and so they won't be lonely, which I support fully. They are a great place and have kind workers.

Worst service ever. I had an application to adopt a dog and it has been 6 days since ibe talked to them they said is recieved a response from 3-5 days. I called today seems like the worker at the front desk could care less about her job. She sat there laughing at me while I was asking her if she has an update on my application. She should get a new job if that's going to be her attitude, If you want good customer service go else where. Here they could careless, hopefully I get the dog I'm wanting...

Update: Thank you 5 acres for ruining my trust in you, I spent 7 days waiting to get accepted to get clyde and I get denied cause they thought my dog was to small to deal with a bigger dog they did not even see my dog yet and they just assume. They also said since my cats are indoor cats and they said that's a problem. You guys are ridiculous if could rate 0 stars I would I'm a animal lover and would not hurt and animal. Thought you guys wanted to get these dogs homes not reject people for no reason.

Currently a petition is up and people are signing it for you guys to change your adoption process and actually take a look into adoption instead of denying people for no reason.

Went to adopt a dog. Saw one we liked that we played with. We waited a week and came back to see him again. While there we saw another puppy we liked. So we asked to see both. They obliged and we put an application on both dogs. While in the interview we talked about the puppy more tham the first dog. We told the volunteer we wanted the puppy more. Got a call back saying we were approved for the first dog. After talking with the secretary (who had no idea what she was talking about and was not helpful). After talking to the dog adoption coordinator she explained that everything on the application was about the first dog and the puppy's name was crossed off. And since we came to see the first dog twice they assumed we wanted that one which we told the volunteer and coordinator was not the case. The document I signed was changed without my knowledge or permission. They gave the puppy to another family and refused to give us the puppy we wanted. They tried to pawn off another puppy on us to appease us but we don't trust them or their volunteers.

There is a dog that I would LOVE in my family but I don't know if I can get it I would love to get it and I know that if u get a dog from a animal shelter then u are opening another place for another dog

We adopted our pupper back in Feburary and it was such an easy process overall. We were informed after requesting the adoption it would be multiple buisness days to see if we would be the right fit and we were contacted the next day! They also keep a very precise schedule and we are SO thankful for that!

Very nice people in there lots of choice of loveable cats and dogs

I, too, wish I could give them 0 stars! My kids chose a puppy. We were told he had no other applications as of that minute, and we were the first. She also said we would get to decide yes or no if our application was approved, and we would be the FIRST family allowed to adopt him. We filled out the application, waited 2 days, then were told he was given to the SECOND family that applied for him AFTER we did! When I asked what was wrong with our application, they said nothing was wrong! They were very unapologetic and said they don't adopt on a "first come, first served" basis, but rather wait until they have 2 applications and then choose between the two! The reason they gave me for giving the puppy to the second family was the other people said they ONLY wanted THIS puppy, SO THAT'S WHY THEY GOT HIM!! Never mind that they weren't the first ones to request him! Of course the shelter said they were more than willing to let us adopt a DIFFERENT dog...since we already had an application in. Really? Like we want to support you now? Almost sounds like bait and switch! WHAT HORRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICE!

Very clean staff was very nice and helpful answered all of our questions. Animals appeared well cared for and happy.

Manager was rather arrogant and judgmental we will not be returning

Was looking to adopt a cat. The cats on the website where not there when I tried talking to the lady in the cat room about she got an attitude. Then we went to look at the puppies and where interested in one only to find out it had been adopted. Was not impressed with this place

So thankful for they do for low income families. We couldn't afford our dog without their service. Thank you!

I loved this place. I don't understand how they have complaints!! The staff is friendly and answered all of my questions. I love how this is a shelter but the dogs have so much room to be able to play and walk around so they don't feel as trapped which I love. As for the cats, they have their own rooms with alot of toys, beds, snd everything to make them feel more comfortable. The customers can even go into their rooms to interact with them!!! Not many places do this. They're also allowed to roam around in the lounging area which is where people can just sit down and love on a cat. Theres a kitty room specifically for the babies and I loved that. They had so much room to roam around and play and get comfy. I just loved this place so much. I'll definitely be coming back to adopt!!

Waited twice over 30-45mins to see the dogs, both waits were supposedly during non peak hours during the week. Staff seem to take their time and not respond to the multiple calls for staff to show potential adopters the dogs. Need a better business model, escorting people slows down the process.

Very nice place wish we could have seen more animals today but it was fun and cool. I hope these lovely cats and dogs find a good home with good people soon though had a blast!

Great people helping animals. Your fur-ever friend is waiting for you there!

Brought my family this afternoon to look at dogs. We lost our last old dog earlier in the year and we all finally decided that we were ready to adopt again. Facility was nice and staff friendly. They do not allow you to see the dogs to decide who you might want to meet. You have to look through photos and then select someone to meet. We never select a dog from a photo. A photo tells me nothing about a dogs personality. Disappointed but still a nice facility if that doesn t bother you.

Our family had a great experience adopting a dog from Five Acres, Ariel was such a huge help in the process. If you want to rescue an animal this is the place.

Tried adopting a puppy, first one's to put in an application, and to come see him. All of a sudden him and his family are off the website. We called and they just say our application was denied and wouldn't say why. I have a feeling you kept them for yourselves. This is about finding dog's homes, not denying applications for no reason.

Great place to get a pet and the workers there very helpful

I've been volunteering here for the last couple weekends. The people that work there all truly care about these animals . Everyone is very friendly, extremely nice , and also just all around caring people. And just to get something else straight this is a no kill shelter . The dogs are also not cramped like another person stated. If you don't believe me than just go up there and meet these people and see the animals.

Amazing place, the Kitty Cottage is basically heaven on Earth.

So helpful putting food in car and helped with good suggestions. Very polite and carrying.

Terrible Communication! If you don t have multiple people in family I wouldn t bother with this place as they will waste your time. Multiple times the emphasis is with best families while not denying applications just stringing you along while they give a puppy to someone that put in an application the day prior (shady)...... This place is the reason why puppy mills exist.

Great place! Really seem to care about the animals.

This is a very nice facility. Staff seem to make a concerted effort to understand the family and place animals where they will have the most chance of success at finding a forever home.

Friendly and clean place for all kinds of cats and dogs.

They spare no expense pampering their rescuses. We adopted Bobby the cat from this shelter in july 2018!

They are very organized and the employees are very friendly and helpful.

If you are looking to adopt a pet this is the place to go. The canine coordinator, Ashley, is fantastic!

I didn't feel very welcomed or taken care of. Any questions was combated with excuses rather than solutions. Cat selection was low, it's not fair to blame them for that but customer service overall was just not good.

Always been good to us!! We ve gotten two dogs from them and they took great care of us!!

Friendly, helpful staff. Time is taken to explain background of animals. Clean and inviting facility.

There trainer/supervisor is a JOKE! My mother was on her first day of volunteering and he was off talking instead of helping a new volunteer. While there she was bitten and the trainer said there was no previous bites and because of his carelessness that dog now has one and so does my mother. As a trainer myself this is absolutely insane your staff should know better.

A wonderful, knowledgeable staff and always No Kill

Fantastic facility. Adopted a dog here, and it was a great experience. Staff is super friendly, and knowledgeable. Highly recommend.

These guys do great work! Beautiful facility and people that REALLY care about the dogs and cats!

This organization is absolutely awesome!!
I wish we had a place like this in every town

I have been to several animal shelters and none compare to Five Acres! This place is more like a high-end, fancy hotel for animals. Very clean, nice staff (although the young gentleman, Drew helping us was a bit strange itching his crotch the entire time) but besides that we had an excellent experience adopting our dog. I would highly recommend adopting from Five Acres.

Impressive and clean facilities plus friendly & helpful staff. Wonderfully organized admin as well. Best shelter if the ones I've seen in the STL area.

Awesome set up great place to visit even if you don't plan to adopt

The place was nice and well kept as far as very clean

We have 2 rescue cats from here. We just adore them. I do recommend bathing them before you get home.

Great staff. Wonderful thoughtful environs for cats/kittens

My roommate and I went to find a dog to liven up our home, and we fell in love with Holly, a 6 year old border collie. When we applied, we were told that we would hear back in a week with a yes or a no. A month and a half, many calls and a couple emails later, we have heard nothing. She was removed from the website, and our hearts were broken. Thanks 5 acers. Would give no stars of I could.

I fell in love with an 8 mth old puppy last weekend. When I was seeing the dog the young girl that worked there told me that I could Foster the pet for a week to see how it got along with my other pets and then adopt the dog from there. On the application for the dog, I wrote that I was interested in fostering to see how the dogs would do and then adopting this dog. The young girl that was helping me there said that she would turn my application into her boss and I would get a call by mid week, which did not happen. I went on their website today to see if the dog was still there since I had not received a call, and the dog had been adopted. I talk to the manager Ariel who made up multiple excuses as to why she was unable to call me and said that she had not really looked at my application send she put it in a folder after seeing the word foster on it. Ariel blamed the reason why she didn't call me on the fact that they have a lot of business going on there and they can't keep up. Ariel kept trying to tell me about possible options for fostering a dog and I had to tell her multiple times that I was NOT wanting to foster and was wanting to give a dog a permanent home. Ariel said another person became interested in the dog and wanted to give it a permanent home so that's why she let them adopt it after I clearly wrote I wanted to ADOPT. It's a good thing I didn't have kids with me or else they would be heart broken over this. Ariel, did not care about what they had done, did not try to fix it in any way just made more excuses. I will NEVER adopt another pet from them or give them any ounce of money EVER again because of this! I will make sure to tell others of this heart breaking and aggravating experience.

Super nice place, it is a no kill animal shelter. They do a lot of fund raising for their place. Employees are friendly and knowledgeable about the animals. Great place to find an animal to adopt.

Dedicated staff. They really care for their residents.

My Fiance and I looked at many many different shelters and we found that Five Acres is the best shelter anyone could go to. We would recommend going here if you are looking for an amazing experience with people who deeply care about the dogs and all other animals. They will answer any questions you have and make sure you have a wonderful experience!

Very good shelter and the workers and volunteers do a wonderful job caring for the animals. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to rescue an animal!

DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO ADOPT A KITTEN YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH.
I had 2 kittens taken from me within 3 weeks, even though I was the first application. The first time I wasn't even notified that the kitten was adopted by the second applicant so when I went back up to Five Acres to see him, he was gone. The second time, we received a call during a time that was specified that I would be unavailable, just for them to leave a voicemail saying that they gave the cat to someone else because we took too long to respond (Mind you, we applied for the kitten late Sunday night and we got a call Monday afternoon at 2:15 even when we specified we would not be available until 2:30).
On top of that, while we were at the shelter looking for a second cat, an employee named Katie told another person looking to adopt that it was EXTREMELY rare that the kitten would go to the second applicant, meanwhile it had happened to us twice.
It's a shame, I was looking to register the kitten as an Emotional Support Animal for my anxiety. Will NEVER be returning.

Clean. Bright. Excellent staff, caring, thorough, helpful and enthusiastic. We my have found our new durables. They allow and require you to bring existing pets to make sure of compatibility. Pic is our Dakota we will see how she does when we introduce her to our hopeful new adoptees.

I got my beautiful boy several years ago from here and was the best decision ever.

Great place to give a nice home to a dog or cat that needs it. My uncle just adopted a adorable puppy from there. We love it....

Heard to many bad thing about them i do trust to give a stray to them

What a horrible place and heartbreaking experience! It s been almost a year since we lost our pup of 17 years and we are now ready to add to our family again. We had a kitty who was with us for 19 years and we have decided to look for another kitten. I found a kitten at Five Acres Animal Shelter that I was interested in and contacted them to arrange to meet her. I spoke with Dana, who told me that she already had an adoption application and was not available for adoption. So I asked about the sibling of the one I was interested in and was told she was sick and not available for adoption at this time. I then asked if they had any other kittens that were available for adoption that I could come in to meet. She said they had several available. Then she proceeded to ask me if we currently had pets in our home and I told her we had a 17 year old Jack Russell that we lost last September and a 19 year old cat that we lost 10 years ago, and that we did not have any pets at this time. She then informed me that unless we already had a cat currently in our home or we are willing to adopt 2 kittens, they would not consider us for an application!!! What!!! Just like that you won t accept an application from me! You haven t even met me! So I hung up and called the SSC Humane Society and they said this is not their policy but they had heard this about Five Acres and that they had also called and confirmed that this is true. This is a ridiculous and cruel. These kittens are sitting in a shelter longer than they have to because of Five Acres policies. Most people are not looking to take on two new kittens at the same time. And it s not like I have not been a pet owner before and judging by the long life of my former pets, I would say I am a good pet owner! I feel so sorry for these kittens who will most likely spend their kitten years locked in a cage at a selfish shelter that would rather adopt out in quantity than the quality of a home! I would say don t consider Five Acres when adopting but that would not be fair to the animals that are looking for forever homes. But I will say....before you fall in love with one of their kittens, beware of their policies. And Dear Owner before you reply that this is not your policy (as you have to others) I suggest you either inform Dana of your actual policies or quit lying!