Animal Acupuncture Westside

In November of 2014, our dachshund, Puca, was suddenly unable to use her back legs or even wag her tail. We took her to a veterinarian. We were told she had a herniated disc. It was suggested we either do immediate surgery or crate rest for 8 weeks. We chose the crate rest, along with daily doses of steroids (prednisone), muscle relaxer and pain medication. She shook, which was an alert to us that she was still in pain. She was also unable to control her urine or bowel movements. After two weeks of crate rest (removing her only to help her pee and clean her crate), we took her to a neurology center where we were told immediate surgery was absolutely necessary and the fee would be $7,000! 

After much distress and tears, we decided to opt out of the surgery option and continue the crate rest. She showed slight signs of deep pain sensation in her back paws, which was the only thread of hope we could hold onto at the time. Three and a half weeks from the initial injury, we found Dr. Schlesinger, an animal acupuncturist who practices traditional Chinese veterinarian medicine. He performed electroacupuncture on her. From the initial visit, we saw real hope!!!

The night we came home from the first treatment, her tail showed the smallest wag – hope! By the end of that week, we saw a full tail wag. She was also taken off her previous meds and given Chinese herbs. No more shaking. Each succeeding visit there was progress. After two visits, she started to hold herself up. By the fifth visit, she was able to stand and walk a little. By the 7th visit, she was able to walk around and hold herself up more. The last few visits we concentrated mostly on her bladder control.

After about 12 visits, she is now able to stand and walk on her own, with 85% ability, full tail wag, happy dog. We continue to work on full bladder control, but the clean-ups have decreased dramatically.

We highly recommend Dr. Schlesinger at Animal Acupuncture Westside! His office and his manner are extremely calming! Our feisty Puca allowed him to place needles into her little body and legs which was a mini miracle in itself! 

My 17 year old cat, Mr. Smith, was in the last stages of kidney disease and an abdominal tumor. I brought him to see Dr. Schlesinger seeking palliative care only. Smith’s condition was complex, and Dr. Schlesinger worked to find a balanced treatment, with herbs and acupuncture, to improve Smith’s immediate comfort and support his kidneys and general strength. To my amazement, after the initial treatment, Smith stabilized and really bounced back with further treatment. He became playful again, and I saw the imperial gleam return to his eyes.

I then brought in Sophie, my 18 year-old cat, to see if the pain from her hip arthritis could be improved. Again, I’m very happy with the results. Where she had been depressed and sleeping all day, she is now moving around more easily, and is playful, affectionate and clearly happier. Cat metabolism makes it difficult to treat pain with most medications, so finding acupuncture works is a huge blessing.

Mr. Smith did ultimately succumb to his illnesses, but I am grateful for the gift of the unexpected extra time of good quality life. Sophie continues to thrive with her regular acupuncture “tune-ups.” I was surprised to find that Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine could have such immediate, dramatic benefits, especially in a complicated medical situation. My cats and I found Dr. Schlesinger to be a very effective practitioner, and he has a good sense of humor to boot.

My 15 1/2 year old Australian Shepherd, Rosie has been seeing Dr. Schlesinger for 2 months. She had been having trouble with her back legs, her coat was dry and dull and had lost strength to go on walks.  

Acupuncture, Chinese herbs and change in diet has helped Rosie's coat become shiny and healthy, her back legs are doing better and she is able to go on walks again. 

I am a believer that the combination of acupuncture, herbs and a grain-free diet have given her a better quality of life. I am happy to have my best friend feeling better.

After sustaining a head injury, our two-year-old pug/beagle mix, "Henley,"' began experiencing head tremors/focal seizures up to several times daily. Since Henley is an otherwise healthy dog, we had reservations about putting him on phenobarbital, the most commonly prescribed anti-seizure medication, which can have side effects ranging from lethargy to liver damage.

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We brought Henley to Dr. Schlesinger to explore alternative treatments -- and have been delighted with the results! After just three acupuncture treatments and a few weeks taking the Chinese herbs Dr. Schlesinger formulated to target Henley's specific needs, our "puggle" is doing remarkably better. The frequency, duration, and severity of Henley's episodes have drastically diminished, and we believe they will soon completely cease.

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Thank you, Dr. Schlesinger, for being an excellent listener; devoting your time and undivided attention to us during visits; combining eastern and western disciplines to offer a comprehensive approach to healing, and for making Henley well again.



Sincerest thanks,

At the end of February, our long-haired dachshund slipped a disk in his back. Our regular veterinarian referred us to The Specialty Clinic for back surgery. Once we heard the price and what was involved in  surgery and recovery, we knew that the surgery was just not an option for us. Our veterinarian told me about Dr. Schlesinger and we went to talk to him.

I was so excited to hear that he could do electro acupuncture on our dachshund. We saw improvement in him after the first treatment. When we first took him he couldn’t put any weight on his back legs and was mostly just dragging them around. We have been seeing Dr. Schlesinger for about 7 weeks now and our Dachshund has about 90% use of both back legs and is still improving. It has been amazing to see him walk then run. He is back to his normal crazy self and happy as ever.

I definitely recommend Dr. Schlesinger because electro- acupuncture saved our dachshund from having to endure surgery, recovery, all the physical therapy involved, and gave us back our wonderful dog.

My dog Roxie is a special dog. I became her new owner when I bought the house belonging to her previous owner.  It was love at first sight. A couple of months later, I had her vet look at the lumps she had on her side and flank. She had surgery to remove them and was diagnosed with Stage 2 Mast cell cancer. Unfortunately Roxie had some additional issues including allergies, arthritis, and weak kidneys so surgeries became tough. I decided to take a natural approach to her cancer. Changed her diet, worked with her vet and things were good.....until January of this year. 
 

She tore her ACL in mid-January. There is nothing that my dog loves more than her walks on the Bosque so this was devastating news. My choices were surgery (not exactly an option), a brace, or crate restriction for up to 8 weeks. I had previously consulted with Dr. Schlesinger when Roxie was first diagnosed with cancer. I was considering acupuncture to help relieve chemotherapy symptoms, but when I decided against the chemotherapy I did not pursue the acupuncture. 

The torn ACL seemed like it might benefit from alternative therapy so I contacted Dr. Schlesinger and made an appointment for a consultation at the end of January. He began treating her and after the first session she had immediate results. She was able to put weight on her leg. She started limping less. 

He treated her weekly for the first month, started her on Chinese herbs and began working with me on her diet. She took her first VERY SHORT walk (like 100 feet) two weeks after we started treatment. In early March we extended treatment to every other week; she was walking longer distances and doing great. 

We now see Dr. Schlesinger about every 5 weeks for evaluation and treatment.  Dr. Schlesinger added herbs to help with her cancer and allergies as well as pain management for her arthritis. Roxie is walking more than 3 miles a day and her health is great.  Thank you Dr. Schlesinger for helping my sweet girl regain her mobility.

An amazing transformation! I took my foster dog to see Dr. Schlesinger due to fear of people. At home she was a very sweet dog, but in public she was scared, probably due to isolation and abuse at her former home.

Dr. S did a thorough evaluation asking me lots of questions and taking a lot of time with the dog so she was comfortable with him. We started herbs and acupuncture. Within a week I saw a drastic difference in her. She started wanting to meet people. Still apprehensive, but better.

After a couple more treatments, with me working on behavior modification, the people at Adoption Events were amazed at the difference in the dog. I contribute a lot of the positive changes to the herbal and acupuncture treatment.

I had the dog for four months before beginning treatment with slow progress, but the pace and amount of progress greatly improved after seeing Dr. S.

I would use Chinese Medicine and Dr. S again!

Our 6 year old Beagle/Dachshund mix, Angus had hind leg paralysis. Our veterinarian of many years recommended surgery to the tune of $5000-$7000. We found Animal Acupuncture Westside online and started acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

In less than 4 weeks Angus began walking. It has been 11 weeks now and Angus is about 90% recovered.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Excellent for your pet's mental state!

Very good alternative medicine for older dogs. Most likely all dogs.

Dr. Schlesinger is a very knowledgeable veterinarian who has always done his best to take care of my dog. With his knowledge in traditional veterinary medicine and in oriental medicine, I know my pet is in good hands.

We first took Snowbelle, a then 8-year-old boxer, to Animal Acupuncture Westside about two years ago. She suffered from a case of sciatica which made it very challenging for her to get around in addition to affecting her appetite and zest for life. Originally, I had my doubts about what acupuncture could accomplish, not just in dogs but also in humans; thinking that perhaps a good amount of what gets reported is placebo.

After visiting our western medicine vet clinic, we soon reached the limit of what western medicine could accomplish. So as a last-ditch effort, we decided to take Snowbelle to Animal Acupuncture Westside. Dr. Schlesinger was very competent, knowledgeable and informative. He walked us through some of the rudimentary terms of the eastern medicine approach, explaining some of the ins and outs of Snowbelle’s chi. In just three weeks, Snowbelle started showing a drastic improvement . And after six weeks, she made a full recovery having undergone Dr. Schlesinger’s treatment plan.

While I initially had my doubts, I can say without reservation that Dr. Schlesinger’s practice is unmatched. He has since treated Snowbelle’s GI issues to great effect and her sciatica has never returned. We continue to see Dr. Schlesinger and would highly recommend this practice to all pet owners. We give Animal Acupuncture Westside a 5 out of 5 for competence, professionalism, friendliness, convenience and affordability.