This is Tau a Neopolitan/Cane mix at 4 years old. I have had 2 other Mastiffs. I adopted him 2 years ago from rescue that pulled him from a LA shelter. I live in Bay Area so I never met him before the rescue brought him up. He's an awesome chill boy and I would have taken him regardless, and I don't at all blame the rescue, but he had obvious severe elbow and minor hip dysplasia when I picked him up. Tau has never run! Took him to UC Davis for consult with CT and Xrays. The vet was great but he said low probability that elbow surgery would really make a difference because of the elbow mechanics. Surgery would be apprx 12k. Recommended carprofen, weight loss, lighter exercise, rest and see how he does. We did that for about 4 mos and he was a bit better but I wanted to try more. Found a specialty vet for Osteoarthritis and went for a consult. Vet was very knowledgeable and she recommended autologous stem cell treatment. She thought it might help a lot. Cost was about $10,000 and was not an easy process. Harvesting stem cells from his belly fat was a narrow but long incision that required recovery time and lots of care. After 3 weeks he got the stem cell injections. Results were good for about 4 months but still an obvious stilted gait and then improvement declined. It would be another aprx 4k for another stem cell injection. Because of sub par results from the first I balked. Then Vet recommended we try shock wave therapy. Shock wave actually worked much better so for the last 10 mos we have been repeating as needed. He is a naturally happy boy but he still has stilted gait, still is on Carprofen, still is limited on his daily walk, and is assisted in and out of the car. So I researched in depth and had a consult with a medical mnfg clinician for an Near Infrared Medical Device I can administer myself using the device and their app. She not only recommended the device but also to start him on a UCII supplement which I did start. Since this device is about $1,500 I am hoping other Mastif/Large Dog fanatics that have used a similar device or used other treatments can provide feedback and advice that worked or did not work. I want to give Tau the best possible life...Thanks!