The Animal Preservation of East Texas (APET) was selected to receive a $5,000 grant from Miranda Lambert’s Mutt Nation Foundation and Tractor Supply through the 2026 Mutts Across America program.
The grant was presented Saturday, Aug. 15, during a small ceremony at the Tractor Supply store in Mineola. Tractor Supply Manager Chris McKinley and Assistant Store Manager Haley King presented the grant to APET President CJ Thatcher. The store also presented APET with a $50 Tractor Supply gift card to help purchase supplies.
APET was selected as a wildcard recipient for Texas this year, in addition to another Texas shelter on Galveston Island.
According to the Mutt Nation Foundation, the Mutts Across America program selects shelters and rescues across the country to receive surprise grants. Since the program began in 2014, the foundation has awarded more than $1.8 million to shelters and rescues.
Shelters do not apply for the Mutts Across America grant. Instead, recipients are selected based on criteria that include adoption rates, shelter activity, fundraising efforts, advocacy and other factors. This year, foster-based organizations were also eligible to receive grants instead of only shelters.
According to Mutt Nation’s website, Texas is the only state to receive two grants through this year’s program.
For APET President CJ Thatcher, the grant came about through an unexpected connection with Bev Lambert, mother of musician Miranda Lambert. Bev Lambert co-founded the foundation with her daughter.
Thatcher met Bev Lambert at a concert in Winnsboro featuring local musician Bri Bagwell. The two struck up a conversation about their shared love of animals, and Thatcher told Lambert about APET and its mission. The two parted without exchanging contact information.
Later, Thatcher said Lambert told her, “she knew my heart after five minutes of talking to me in Winnsboro that night.”
After their conversation, Lambert researched APET’s history and mission and looked through the organization’s social media presence before determining that it met the criteria for a Mutt Nation grant.
Lambert later contacted APET and the City of Winnsboro, where Thatcher serves as a council member, in an effort to reconnect with Thatcher. The two eventually met for lunch at Kitchen’s in Mineola.
During that lunch, Lambert told Thatcher that APET had been selected to receive the grant.
Thatcher said Lambert told her she knew APET was deserving and did not want the organization to have to wait until the next grant cycle in 2027.
The $5,000 grant will primarily be used to help cover medical expenses for the 50 shelter animals currently at APET. Those expenses include veterinary care, spaying and neutering, microchipping and other medical procedures animals may need before they can be adopted.
Thatcher and Shelter Director Liesse Langlois both emphasized the importance of ensuring animals are fully vetted before adoption. APET makes sure animals are spayed or neutered, receive their required vaccinations and test negative for heartworm before being adopted.
The organization also carefully screens potential adopters, Langlois said, to help ensure animals are placed in safe, appropriate and loving homes.
In addition to donations and grants, APET operates a local thrift store at 915 S. Pacific in Mineola to generate revenue for the shelter. Items donated by community members are sold at the store, with proceeds helping fund the shelter’s ongoing operations.
Residents interested in volunteering, donating supplies or supporting APET can contact the organization through its website at www.apetshelter.org, or its Facebook page.