Ms. Cooper, an immigrant from Canada, can be sensitive and caring, according to her friends, but also seems to have a more contentious side. Neighbors said she had a tendency to get into personal disputes.
Her personal life once spilled into court. A few years ago, according to a lawsuit she filed, she had become involved with a married man and had lent him $65,000. When he did not leave his wife for her, she filed the suit in Manhattan to get back the money, before settling.
“From what I saw, she was very devoted to her animals,” said Maria Meade, 60, who lives in a nearby building. “The only thing I’ll tell you is she never spoke directly to a person. She always spoke through her dog, and in a baby voice. It was really bizarre.”
Another neighbor, Marisol De Leon, 40, said Ms. Cooper frequently walked Henry unleashed, and became irate when told not to. “There was a sense of entitlement,” Ms. De Leon said.
Alison Faircloth, 37, a neighbor and dog owner, recalled that last winter, she came upon Ms. Cooper on the verge of tears outside the building’s lobby. A doorman had cursed at her for no reason, Ms. Cooper told her. Ms. Cooper vowed to get the doorman fired, Ms. Faircloth said.
But when Ms. Faircloth asked the doorman what had happened, he told her that Ms. Cooper had complained about a broken elevator, then cursed at him after she barged into a security booth and had to be removed by a guard.
“There’s always a narrative from her about someone who has done her wrong,” Ms. Faircloth said.