Gail Moerkerken, longtime volunteer for B.C. animal charities

Gail Moerkerken (VOKRA photo)

Founded Big Heart Rescue Society & Spirit’s Mission

Gail Moerkerken, 57, died on September 25, 2015, remembered as “a fearless, tireless, intelligent, perceptive and articulate advocate for all creatures and a great friend and colleague to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association,” wrote VOKRA volunteer Dania Sheldon.

“Gail founded the Big Heart Rescue Society, which rescued dogs and cats throughout British Columbia, and was a coordinator for Noah’s Wish, an emergency disaster response organization for animals,” Sheldon continued. “This took her to the heart of numerous major incidents. In Fire Storm 2003, she worked flat-out to save and rehabilitate companion

Gail Moerkerken during Hurricane Katrina rescue. (VOKRA photo)

animals and livestock in Kamloops and Kelowna. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, she lived in the disaster zone for weeks on end. In her home community on Gabriola Island, she was the Emergency Social Services Pet Care Coordinator, a volunteer with the Gabriola Rescue of Wildlife Society, and a volunteer with Gabriola Cats Alive. In 2014, she founded Spirit’s Mission, a rescue organization dedicated to eliminating disease, neglect and overpopulation for cats and dogs in British Columbia’s remote communities. Spirit’s Mission will continue, albeit with a heavy heart,” Sheldon promised, “to fulfill Gail’s vision of a province in which no cats or dogs are abused, neglected or left to suffer disease and starvation.”