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Robbers Hit Up 2 Related Shops That Don't Pull In A Lot Of Money

By Stan Bush

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - Jean Ausenbraugh is lucky if her thrift shop, Angels With Paws, makes $100 a day. So it was a big deal to her on Tuesday when two men wanted to buy a $20 jacket.

"He said he was going to get a $100 and I said, 'That's fine, I have the change.' Dumb, I guess maybe," said Ausenbraugh.

cat-robbers-10pkg-transfer Jean Ausenbraugh
CBS4's Stan Bush interviews Jean Ausenbraugh (credit: CBS)

She pulled $80 out of the register and when she looked up one of them men was pointing a gun at her and demanded the cash.

"We don't keep that much here anyway, but for us a little bit is a lot," Ausenbraugh said.

The robbery didn't just represent an entire day of earnings. It took for a cause near to Ausenbraugh's heart. She also runs a pet adoption center, also called Angels With Paws, just two miles from the thrift shop. Profits from the store go to paying for vaccines, surgeries, and bills to run the adoption center.

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(credit: CBS)

For 12 years Ausenbraugh has taken cats from the Human Society, nursed them to health, and sent them home to families.

"We rescue and then adopt them out. That's what we do and this money keeps us going."

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(credit: CBS)

Ausenbraugh called Wheat Ridge police and reported the crime. She described the suspects as two black men in their late 20s. The gunman is 6 feet tall. He was wearing a red plaid shirt and a baseball cap. His accomplice is 6-foot-2 and wore a black leather jacket.

Ausenbraugh is hoping anyone with information will call police.

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(credit: CBS)

"Now that I've survived I'm mad that they've done that to us."

Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.

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