Animal lovers are rallying around a family whose dog, a Newfoundland named Rosie, was shot and killed by Des Moines police.

A group called “Justice for Rosie” protested outside the Snohomish County Courthouse where the dog’s owners asked that the officers be charged with animal cruelty.

“I’ve never known a Newfoundland, or other big dog to be scary,” Savina Croning told KING-5.

“To shoot her four times is just insane. I don’t know what she could have done to ever merit that,” Croning said.

Des Moines police shot the dog last year, claiming she was a threat. An internal investigation by the department determined there was no wrongdoing.