A Snohomish County judge will rule in September on whether or not to dismiss a civil complaint made against two Des Moines police officers by the owners of a Newfoundland dog who was shot and killed by police last November.

Chuck and Deirdre Wright's dog, Rosie, was shot and killed by Des Moines officers after Rosie had gotten loose from her yard and police officers were unable to capture her.

The criminal complaint is against Des Moines Police Sgt. Steve Weiland and Officer Michael Graddon.

After hearing arguments from attorney Matthew Kaser, who represents the city of Des Moines and Adam Karp, representing the Wrights, Snohomish County Judge Tam T. Bui said she will issue a written decision on whether or not to dismiss the case on Sept. 12.

Kaser is arguing it is unconstitutional for the Wrights to bring criminal charges forward and that the case was wrongly transferred to Snohomish District Court.

He filed two motions-- one to dismiss because it is unconstitutional, and another to have it sent back to Des Moines and heard before a court-appointed judge there.

"This is not a charge that is sustainable," Kaser said. "I ask the court to dismiss it at its inception. I ask this court to do justice and sustain constitutional principles."

Karp countered Kaser's point saying the state Supreme Court upheld a citizen's right to bring criminal charges forward.

"The Supreme Court refused to repeal this rule in the mid-1990s," Karp said. "Our state recognizes there is co-extensive authority between prosecutors and the courts. It's a needed check and balance."

A group of around 30 people from Pasado's Safe Haven came to the hearing to give their support to the Wrights and protest the actions of the police officers.

After the shooting a shooting review was ordered, as well as an internal investigation, both of which found no wrong doing with the officers' actions.

But several witnesses said they did not see Rosie acting aggressively and were left wondering why the situation had to be resolved the way it was.

Lora Perry, owner of the house whose yard Rosie ultimately ended up in said Rosie looked scared, and did not move between the time Perry noticed her in the yard and the officers got there, which Perry said was about 20 minutes. Perry said she would have let Rosie stay in her yard until her owners were found, but she was never given that choice by police officers.

The Wrights filed a citizen complaint alleging misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after the King County prosecutor reviewed the case and found no criminal culpability in the actions of the officers.

Since the Wrights filed their petition, the case has been bouncing from court to court trying to find a judge who would hear it.

Des Moines Judge Veronica Alicea-Galvan recused herself from the case, saying she couldn't allow even the appearance of partiality.

From Des Moines it was sent to King County District Court, who said they had no judges who could hear the case, but did not specify why. King County sent the case to Pierce County District Court, who also said they had no judges who could hear the case.