HORSE CAN FEEL YOUR HEART BEATING”

Cozewith was almost 40 when her husband gave her a $100 “starter package” one year for Christmas. That included lessons with a professional trainer. But that was just a taste, and Cozewith wanted more. Soon, she wanted a better barn, a better trainer. She leased a horse, and then she bought her lease horse. She bought a bridle and all the tack, plus a horse trailer.

“It is extraordinarily expensive,” to own a horse, she says.

The first horse died after two years, so she decided to buy another one, a 4-yearold she named Chevalier. That’s Chevy for short, and since he weighs 1,600 pounds, his show name is Three-Quarter Ton — he’s her three-quarter ton Chevy.

Cozewith and Chevy compete in threeday events about four times a year. And sometimes they do pretty well. In March, they took fourth place out of 12 riders.

But Cozewith gets points just for showing up.

That’s because in summer 2009, she

Harley Cozewith competes with her horse, Chevy.

4-year-old stallion and Harley Cozewith

had an accident while riding a friend’s horse. She broke her hip and was in the hospital for three weeks, then a wheelchair for three months, then a walker and crutches. Over the course of 11 months, she had four surgeries.

The first time she got back on Chevy, she was scared to death and shaking.

“A horse can feel a fly land on its butt,” Cozewith says. “A horse can feel your heart beating.”

So a shaky rider makes for an anxious horse. Over time, and with Chevy’s help, Cozewith got over her fear. She will forever have titanium in her hip, but she has confidence in her heart and mind.

Cozewith lives on Goliad and is director of operations at the Museum of Nature and Science. She has three indoor cats, a “porch cat” and a Labrador retriever. Those are her pets, but Chevy is so much more.

“He’s my partner and my friend,” she says. “I take care of him and he takes care of me.”

Cozewith drives out to ride Chevy four or five times a week at stables in Wilmer. She gets there before the sun comes up, and she gets to work in Fair Park by 9 a.m.

“There is nothing better than watching the sun come up from the back of a horse,” she says.

Even though he is high maintenance and very expensive, Cozewell says, it’s worth it. She spends about $700 to take him to competitions. She pays vet bills and veterinary dentist bills. Every six weeks, the horse gets new shoes, which cost $125.

“Mama shops at Target,” she says. “Baby wears Prada.”

Loki the beauty

Susan Yost wanted a big dog that looked intimidating.

Living in Asheville, N.C., at the time, she liked to blow off steam by hiking in the mountains. but it occurred to her that could be dangerous.

So she went to the pound to find a big dog.

“It was between Loki and a Doberman,” she says. “So I went home and thought about it, and finally I decided to get the Doberman.” but when she returned, the Doberman had been adopted, so Loki it was. the dog took to hiking in the mountains, and he did the job of looking intimidating.

“His previous owners had left him because they were moving,” Yost says. “He was the only one in the shelter that had a stuffed animal.”

Loki is not actually intimidating. He’s a very friendly dog, who is also beautiful. When they are out at the dog park, people often stop Yost to remark on Loki’s uniqueness.

“He is just the star of the dog park,” she says. “Everyone loves him.”

Yost, a graphic designer, and her boyfriend, an animator, moved to Dallas from Asheville, N.C., a few months ago. It’s the pits when the temperature is 75 in Asheville and 106 in Dallas. But they’re hanging in there, and they love their neighborhood, near Lindsley Park.

The couple also has two other dogs, two cats and a horse, which they board in Waxahachie.

“When we found out we were moving, we thought, ‘Oh, no, who is going to rent to us with all these animals?’ ” Yost says. “But then we found this place, and it’s been great.”

JAKE & BELLA Boxers

Jake and Bella, the loving siblings

Laura Bruner, who lives in the M Streets, sent in photo after photo of her dogs snuggling. Jake and Bella, both boxers, can even be caught spooning on their dog bed.

“He’s so sweet to her,” Bruner says of Jake. “He even lets her eat his food.”

Bruner got Jake as a puppy 10 years ago after her brother-in-law interested