JEFFERSON COUNTY • It's been a bad 11 days for Mark Lenz of Cedar Hill since his therapy horse, Cooper, went missing from his family's pasture in north Jefferson County.

Lenz said he and his 12-year-old Palomino Missouri Fox Trotter horse had a special bond from the day the family took Cooper in 10 years ago. But after a near-fatal car accident in September 2014 crushed Lenz's legs and left him unable to even stand for more than a year, Cooper was crucial to his ongoing recovery.

"Riding with him didn't just help rebuild the strength in my legs, it brought me out of a deep depression," he said. "My whole mental attitude was changed."

Lenz said doctors initially wanted to amputate his legs after he kept contracting gangrene because of the crushed capillaries in his legs. Lenz resisted, buying special stirrups to help him ride with Cooper. Now he's able to stand and use a cane.

Cooper would come to Lenz's bedside window to greet him and was patient with him as he struggled to regain control of his legs. The horse would even kneel down to make it easier for Lenz to mount.

"I trust my 2-year-old around him, he's just that docile," he said.