🐶🎀 An Adorabow Mission

🪡 A Hidden Talent.. Darius Brown was only eight-years-old when he made his first bow tie. 

• Watching his older sister, Dazhai, as she sat at the sewing machine, Darius spent months perfecting his technique and making ties for himself and his friends. 

Dazhai and their mother Joy were reluctant to let Darius help at first; the New York native was diagnosed with a speech and fine motor skills disorder when he was only two. Day-to-day tasks that many would find simple were often difficult for Darius.

• “Because of this I felt like it would be better to wait,” said Joy. “But I never wanted him to feel like he was different, so eventually, I got him some safety scissors and he got to work.”

🎀 Bows for a Cause... Two years after he made that first bow tie, Hurrican Irma devastated the Southern coast- displacing hundreds of pets and overwhelming shelters nationwide.

• In hopes of helping some of the animals affected by Irma stand out at adoption events, Darius sewed twenty-five bow ties and donated them to a local shelter. 

He was shocked when almost all of them got adopted. 

🐾 Getting to Work... Soon after, Darius founded Beaux and Paws, an organization dedicated to helping shelter pets find their forever homes by providing cute and colorful bowties. 

In the past four years, he's sewed around 600 ties- and he's made it his goal to donate to shelters in all 50 states. 

• “Animals who wear them get adopted right away because people find them instantly charming,” said Lorri Caffrey, executive director of the Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter in East Hanover, N.J.

The eighth grader was even recognized by former president Barack Obama, who thanked him for his community service and dedication to helping animals in need. 

❤️ Future Plans... According to The Washington Post, Darius said he’d one day like to open a foster shelter for dogs and expand his canine accessory line to feature dog sweaters and vests.

• “Even something small like a tie can help get an animal adopted because a bow tie is unique and helps bring out a pet’s personality...” he said. “A well-dressed dog, that will make people smile.”