January 2, 2009
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There is a place in Murrieta called the Dudette Ranch, established by Pattie Roberts, a familiar face around Southwest Riverside County for her work promoting good causes with local radio station KFROG and her own marketing agency. The concept for the Dudette Ranch was a take-off of the vacation destination “dude ranch.”
“Although we aren’t wrangling cattle or sleeping under the stars, this is a working horse ranch and the monthly membership allows members daily access to hang out at the barn and work with the horses we care for, train and ride,” says Pattie.
Pattie didn’t expect the Dudette Ranch to turn into a rescue center for horses, but that’s exactly what happened last summer when more than 20 starving rescue horses arrived at another area ranch.
“Unfortunately, the lady who rescued the horses stopped feeding them, surrendering them to the State of California several months later,” Pattie explains, “The state does not have an adoption program like it does for dogs and cats; so the horses were going to be put down had we not taken them.” Since then, Pattie has relied on community members to help her with the care and feeding of the rescued horses.
That’s when Canyon Lake resident Debra Vernaci stepped in, contacting The Friday Flyer to appeal to the many residents here who love horses. Debra came across the Dudette Ranch because she works for the City of Murrieta and heard about the plight of the rescued horses.
After checking out the Dudette Ranch for herself, she was impressed with the owner and wanted to let Canyon Lakers know about Pattie’s good cause. Recently she got a message from her stating, “I am about in panic mode as I have spent every last dime I have keeping these guys – it wasn’t supposed to work like this!” Apparently, due to a recent decline in donations, Pattie is in a crisis situation and unable to have feed delivered without payment.
“This is such a worthy cause and my heart goes out to her,” says Debra. “This has been such a great sacrifice on her and she is in personal debt to the feed store for over $20,000. She is in need of donations and volunteers to assist with building shelters for the horses. Her main goal, however, is to find loving permanent homes for them.”
Debra says Pattie has two older well-trained rescue horses available for an $800 adoption fee and is offering discounted riding lessons in order to get feed for the horses. Canyon Lake animal lovers who would like to make a donation to the non-profit organization or who would like more information, should contact Pattie Roberts at 440-2536. Further information and the ability to make donations online can be found at www.DudetteRanch.com.