Canyon Lake Animal Shelter Society (CLASS) President Debbie England announced today she will step down, paving the way for a board of directors with nonprofit experience to “carry the torch forward.”
No timeline was provided.
Over the last two years, the community activist and owner of Rock Bottom Auto Repair spearheaded a herculean turnaround effort at the facility, plagued over the years with a reputation for gross mismanagement and horrific animal abuse.
“The shelter’s progress has moved past where I am an effective president,” England said on social media. “I’m not qualified to lead us into this next chapter. We need board members with 501(c)(3) experience. We need a president with the ability to apply for grants and funding to carry the shelter forward or to appoint those who can.
“Board members with a passion for animals and the knowledge to help continue the mission.”
An application process opens soon.
“So if you have a heart and brain for this endeavor, be ready,” England said. “Planning for 2026.”
In April 2023, England apologized for her onetime support of former President Darrell Mayfield and wife Kelly Mayfield, who allegedly advised a kennel manager to euthanize a sick puppy by sticking it in a freezer during the couple’s 1 1/2-year reign of terror at the shelter.
She hastily assembled a new board of directors that included Sarah Hammond, executive director of the Humane Society of New Braunfels Area (HSNBA).
They inherited a shelter plagued by improprieties with record/bookkeeping, a foster program in shambles, an adoption program described as a “fragmented mess,” and a lack of basic medical details and shot records for many current and former animals at the shelter.
Dirt around the building was so riddled with highly contagious viruses that cause diseases like parvovirus, coccidia, and Giardia, the shelter had to be completely shut down for remediation.
England pledged to adopt best practices from HSNBA to “untangle this horrific mess.”
Over the last several years, the administrator of the popular Everything Canyon Lake TX Facebook page — who also has a finger in many other community-service projects in the area — collaborated with HSNBA, which now vets animals before sending them to CLASS for adoption.
Reaction on England’s Facebook page was overwhelmingly positive.
“I want to say how I and the critters that were left in a small disaster when you and the ladies showed up finally,” one resident said. “Because things started to change right off the bat. And progress was happening .. you changed the way it operated and adopted and, out you changed it’s reputation.”