Rescued animals benefit from girl's creative domino designs

At 10 years old, Karsyn Connell already runs a successful business -- but she's not pocketing any of the profits. Instead, she donates the money to help a few furry friends at the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance in Lilbourn, Mo., about an hour south of Cape Girardeau in New Madrid County.

The business is Karsyn's Domino Designs for Dogs. She makes necklaces and magnets out of dominoes, giving each a decoration such as owls, peace signs and hand-drawn tie-dye designs. Her grandmother, Paula Haas, sells them at her shop Somewhere in Time Antiques in Cape Girardeau. They sit proudly on display next to the register, underneath a flier created by Karsyn.

"I sell a lot of the ‘groovy' and ‘peace' necklaces," she said. "The owls sell a lot and the breast cancer ones, too."

Karsyn Connell with necklaces she creates to help animal rescue. (Laura Simon)

Karsyn has been making and selling the domino designs for about a month, after learning the designing technique from her cousin in Nashville, Tenn. She said she spent nearly every weekday in her grandmother's shop working on them.

In the beginning, Karsyn thought she would just sell a couple of necklaces, but they quickly became popular.

"At first, the goal was just $30 or $40, just a little something to help out," she said. "But so far I've raised about $200."

Haas said that she is always quick to share Karsyn's story with customers who stop to look at the dominoes.

"I've had some people bust out in tears when they hear it; some people give extra money for the necklaces," she said. "Some people even ask if they can help with transporting or where they can send donations."

Karsyn's mother, Angie Andrews, transports animals for the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance, which operates solely on donations and volunteer work. She became involved after she adopted one of the rescue dogs.

"I never really knew about rescue until then," Andrews said. "A lot of people don't know what all goes on."

The alliance rescues cats and dogs, but has no shelter of its own, she explained. Volunteers rescue them from animal control facilities across southern Missouri. Many of the animals they rescue are only days away from euthanization because the smaller, more impoverished towns do not have the money to provide a real shelter or adequate care.

Alliance volunteers either foster the animals in their own homes until they are adopted or transport them to larger rescue shelters, but first, Andrews said, the animals are fully vetted.

"The rescue alliance doesn't turn away any dog or cat," she said. "They make sure they're spayed and neutered. If they have heartworms they treat them or pay for surgery if they've been hurt or run over -- whatever they need."

The money Karsyn raises from her domino designs pays the alliance's veterinarian tab. When Andrews brought in the first donation, which Karsyn said she kept secret as a surprise, they were amazed by her efforts.

"Their reaction? Extremely grateful. Shocked," Andrews said.

Karsyn said during the summer, she could make as many as 40 necklaces in one day. Now that she's back in school, she said it's difficult to find time to make so many, but she has no plans to quit.

"I like having my own little business," she said. "I plan to keep doing it for a while."

She's also inspiring others to start their own domino designs for dogs. Karsyn said she recently gave design instructions to a girl from Texas who reached out to her and said she wanted to raise money for her local rescue shelter.

Karsyn's Domino Designs for Dogs may be purchased at Somewhere in Time Antiques, 108 N. Main St., or on the business's Facebook page Somewhere in Time Antiques Shop. Necklaces and magnets are $2 each. Karsyn also is working on a necklace line, which will feature beads and rhinestones and will cost $4 each.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

108 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo