Fighting Residents’ Council : Defiant Tenant Fights to Keep Dog

Ann Norman was asked to choose between giving up her dog, Valentine, or her home in a government-subsidized apartment project for the elderly. She decided to fight.

“I love my dog and the dog loves me,” Norman said Tuesday. “We’re going to keep each other.”

Norman, 72, faces eviction from her one-bedroom apartment at Magnolia Towers in North Hollywood because her Australian shepherd violates rules established by an elected residents’ council, which manages the 200-unit building.

The apartment complex sued Norman on Dec. 14, asking for up to $25,000. The suit says she forfeited her lease by refusing to comply with the regulations, or move. Norman filed a response in Los Angeles County Municipal Court on Tuesday, arguing that her landlord lacks proof that Valentine is a nuisance.

The 18-member residents’ council set a 20-pound limit on pets before Norman took Valentine home. It says the action was taken to keep large pets from injuring frail residents. The rule requires pet owners to be able to carry pets through public areas.

“We’re not vicious people,” said building coordinator Phil Sutherland. “I told her from day one, ‘Please do not get attached to the dog. It will not comply with the pet rules.’ ”

Valentine weighs 35 pounds, too much for Norman to carry. So Norman trained her to crawl into a shopping cart and began wheeling her through the complex. But Norman said she soon hurt her back lifting the cart.

Norman tried using side security exits when leaving the building with the dog. But residents noticed, and complaints that undesirables would enter the high-security complex through the doors were added to objections about Norman’s pet.

Valentine, who will be 1-year-old in January, is knee-high on all fours. Norman has owned the dog since April. She is a gentle dog, Norman said, but has all the exuberance of a puppy and a tendency to show affection by jumping into the air or onto the nearest person.

Norman, who moved into the apartment project when it opened in 1985, has been warned about the dog many times, Sutherland said. She has received at least five letters asking her to comply with the building’s rules, including two notices informing her that the council would take action in 10 days if Norman did not give up the dog.