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It was about a year ago when a surge in media reports turned national attention toward the mistreatment of some pack horses and mules on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, known for its Grand Canyon setting and turquoise waterfalls. Visitors spoke out about seeing malnourished and wounded animals, a new horse advocacy group came on the scene and one tribal member was arrested on animal cruelty charges related to one of his pack horses.

Through that time, and even before then, Kellye Pinkleton had been trying to get in touch with the Havasupai Tribe to see how her organization could help the pack animals.

The Arizona state director at The Humane Society of the United States, Pinkleton spent months reaching out to tribal officials, the public relations firm hired by the tribe and the tribe’s attorney. She wanted to find a way to set up a sustained effort to provide direct care to the horses and mules as well as education to their owners, she said.

After eventually securing a meeting with the Havasupai Tribal Council last fall, Pinkleton got permission for the Humane Society to take its first trip to the Havasupai village of Supai in mid-May. The hope is that it will be the first of what will become regular service trips to the community, Pinkleton said.