Summer is about fun and relaxation. But for this 14-year-old girl named Kiara Yzabelle Serrano, an incoming Grade 9 student of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, summer means more time to serve others, and this time not human beings, but animals.
While most children engage in various summer activities, this teenage girl chooses to render her school task at the animal shelter.
Kiara’s love for animals drove her to offer her services at the Cebu City Pound to take care of stray, abandoned and orphaned dogs and cats, among others.
Kiara was first interviewed by Dr. Jessica Maribujoc, a veterinarian who manages the facility on how committed she was to perform the tasks before being granted the job.
Kiara goes to the city pound on a regular schedule just to take care of the dogs by walking them, feeding, hugging them and even bathing them.
That is indeed a noble act for a young lady in a not-so-pleasant environment, yet she does these with love and devotion, not minding the heat, the stench or foul odor and hard work it entails.
The dogs, including the disabled Kimmy, wag their tails upon seeing her.
Ever since Kiara was a child, she has always been fond of animals, spending much time to research about their characteristics and traits. She has a special aura in her that can tame even wild and agitated animals. Whenever she communicates to them and handles them, they just seem to calm down and warm up to her touch.
Kiara participates in activities that support animal welfare and animal rights.
In school, she is an active member of their pet club. She was also a resource speaker in one of their alternative class days.
Kiara’s residence appears like a mini-zoo. She currently keeps exotic pets: 2 hedgehogs, 2 white rats named Charlie and Ryder, a gecko, a scorpion, turtles, a Japanese spitz dog and more.
On her recent birthday, she got a Doberman whom she named Margaux, given by her parents who support her interests and endeavors.
Kiana plans to take up Veterinary Medicine in college.