DENVER — Bull in a china shop.
Elk in a home decor store.
Dierdre Kinley first learned about a female elk near her business in Estes Park last Thursday afternoon because people were approaching the animal. Police tried to keep them away.
It was later in the day when she looked up to see the elk inside her shop.
"I didn’t realize she was still around. I was doing something on my iPad and looked up and there she was, in my store!" she said in a message to 9NEWS.
Kinley's store, Favorite Things, sells home goods and gifts -- plenty of it is made of glass, but all of it is capable of making a mess. The elk was surrounded by curated shelves of greeting cards, tote bags and dishes.
"I keep my front door propped open to invite people in. I’ve had a few chipmunks and a bird come in but never an elk!" Kinley said.
She called the auxiliary police for assistance, so the elk was not spooked to the point of charging her or the shelves. They moved displays closer to the elk until they nudged her back out the door.
Earlier this month, a female elk was spotted in Cliffhanger Used Books, just .2 miles from Kinley's store. A woman saw the elk on July 5 and said this happens from time to time.
"She passes through and then back again an hour or so later. Did it twice last week," Kathy Kister said.
Is it the same one, or do the elk in Estes Park need a little retail therapy?
That's The Most Colorado Thing We Saw Today. How about you? Email your Colorado things to Next@9NEWS.com.
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