One teen, Darius Brown, has the mission to make sure shelter dogs stand out from the pack enough so that they get adopted. He does so by sewing together bowties for dogs to make them look spiffy.
Brown’s sister, Dazhai, taught him to sew when he was only eight. When his first project, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-themed bowtie, showed to be popular with his friends, he knew he found his niche. And thus, the fun began.
According to his mom, Joy, Darius’s passion was a godsend. He was diagnosed at an early age with speech and fine-motor skills disorders. Joy noticed her son’s abilities improving as he pursued his new hobby.
“He was so determined. He sat and watched Dazhai for months and took it all in,” Joy told The Washington Post. “He started out cutting fabric and pretty soon, he was running the sewing machine by himself.”
Darius was inspired to use his talent to help animals get adopted when he learned about all of the family pets left homeless by 2017’s Hurricane Irma. The teen soon sent a batch of 25 bowties to New York City’s ASPCA animal shelter, which had become a large refuge for an influx of animals displaced by Irma.
“I saw how happy the people at the shelter were to get the bowties and how much the dogs liked them, and I decided to make more,” he told The Washington Post. “I came up with a goal to give bowties to an animal shelter in every state.”
Darius estimates he has sewn roughly 600 bowties for rescue animals since he began his mission. Animals in Washington D.C. -area shelters and eight U.S. states (so far) have been the main beneficiaries of the teen’s inspiring work.
Brown loves to focus on older animals and pets with disabilities, since he’s aware that they can be harder to find homes for. Shelter directors admit that Darius’s bowties have made an enormous difference in helping their low-profile pets get adopted.
Brown created his Beaux and Paws brand with the help of his mom. Together they brought it on to Facebook and Instagram. The duo also started a GoFundMe campaign to help fund the cost of Darius’s sewing supplies.
As his operations became more in demand, Brown started up his own entrepreneurial website, Sir Darius Brown (https://www.sirdariusbrown.com). A portion of all of his profits go to the ASPCA.
Unfortunately, Darius’s apartment complex doesn’t allow dogs. So, for the time being his dreams of having a dog of his own will be set on pause. One day, however, Brown aspires to own a foster facility and surround himself with furry friends. He also intends to expand the Beaux and Paws inventory to include brightly colored and boldly patterned dog sweaters and vests. All of this is just to help show off adoptable pets to advantage them. How inspiring!
