Designer makes bow ties to promote pet adoption

Sir Darius Brown has never had a pet.

The 16-year-old New Jersey native has yet to live in a place that allowed them.

That didn’t stop him from falling in love with animals when he visited the ASPCA shelter in New York City in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

He had been making bowties for people and knew that the attention he received in wearing them would benefit the animals.

Watch the video below to see the teen entrepreneur dressing shelter pets for success

“Since then I’ve made it my mission to continue helping shelter pets across the nation,” Brown said.

Brown is furthering that mission by joining NBCUniversal Local’s Clear the Shelter campaign as an ambassador and by designing a special edition bowtie for the effort.

Brown is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beaux and Paws, a pet accessory and lifestyle brand. The brand’s signature item are pet bow ties. The company donates a matching bowtie to an animal shelter with every purchase.

The jaunty accessories aim to help catch the eye of bipeds looking for a new furry friend. "Animals who are often overlooked and stay longer in shelters may especially benefit from wearing special accessories like a colorful bow tie, bandana, or scarf," Rena Lafaille, director of administration at the ASPCA Adoption Center said.

The bowties help animals be noticed in the shelters and increase their likelihood of being adopted, according to the company website.

“I can tell that it has a great effect on them. I see that the dogs are more energetic,” Brown said.

At 2 years old. Brown was diagnosed with a speech comprehension and fine motor skills delay.

Through helping his sister make hair bows, his fine motor skills improved.

“Anything she wanted to do, I wanted to do,” Brown said. “She suggested that I cut the fabric so that over time I could use the sewing machine.”

When he got on the sewing machine, Brown decided to make bow ties over hair bows.

“I would wear my bow ties in public all the time, which led to me receiving a lot of compliments and a lot of attention,” Brown said.

In 2018, he launched Beaux and Paws and in 2019 Brown launched the PAW-SOME MISSION which has raised over $300,000 for animals in shelters across the nation.

“For months he had a lot of shelters requesting bow tie donations and for him to visit their shelter or participate in an events and then he started the PAW-SOME MISSION,” Sir Darius’ mother Joy said.

Brown earned the Global Child Prodigy Award in 2022, The Diana Award in 2020 and in 2018 then-President Barack Obama sent Brown a personal letter recognizing his community work.

“I’m going to use my platform to spread awareness for shelter pets, to make sure they get adopted,” Brown said. “I’ll be volunteering at animal shelters. I want to be able to play my part.”

In his role as ambassador, Brown aims to help Clear the Shelters reach 1,000,000 adopted pets.

Clear the Shelters, whose 2023 campaign runs through the month of August, has helped over 860,000 animals find homes since 2015. Clear the Shelters is also working with Hill's Pet Nutrition for whom Brown serves as a shelter advocate.

The 2022 campaign saw the coalition of NBC and Telemundo owned and affiliated local stations raise $540,000 and match 161,000 animals with new homes.

“When people are seeking to adopt a pet, you are going to be able to save a life,” Brown said.