A 13-year-old entrepreneur from New Jersey is sewing tiny handmade stylish bow ties for animals so they could get adopted.
Following the devastating Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma experience in 2017, Sir Darius Brown felt a need to help after learning about the displaced dogs.
He decided to make bow ties to make the displaced dogs look dapper and cute so they could be more noticeable in hopes of finding their forever homes faster.
Brown visited the adoption center where he learned that hundreds of dogs are euthanized daily at some shelters due to overcrowding.
As a dog lover, he was devastated by the reality at the shelter and that was the beginning of his mission to help save the lives of dogs and cats by donating his handmade bow ties to animal shelters across the nation.
He came up with the idea in 2017.
“I just wanted to help the dogs that I saw on TV that had lost their families and their homes.
“I didn’t have a lot of money to help so I decided to use my creative skills of making stylish bow ties for the dogs to wear to help them be more noticeable so they could get adopted faster into new loving homes,” Brown wrote on Instagram.
He has been making bow ties as a hobby since 2010. According to his mum, Joy Brown, he started by making bow ties for animals at an ASPCA in New York. “Once he got there, he realized dogs all over the world needed homes, and he wanted to help them stand out,” she said.
He has since made more than 500 bow ties and started a company, ‘Beaux and Paws’. Which has been donating countless bow ties to shelters and adoption centers across the USA and the United Kingdom and has also helped countless shelter pets find loving forever homes.
He has helped get dozens of cats and dogs adopted at more than 20 shelters, according to his mum. “I know that I’m doing something right, raising an amazing kid who is inspiring people all over the world,” his mom said. “I tell him all the time, ”I wanna be like you when I grow up.'”
Currently, the youngster is raising money on his GoFundMe page to enable him to deliver bow ties to shelters in all 50 states.
In 2018, former President Barack Obama learned of Sir Darius’ mission andsent him a personal letter commending him for his commitment to community service.
In January, he was featured as one of GoFundMe’s kid heroes and has just been named the 2020 New Jersey State Honoree for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
