ONTARIO – With Christmas Eve just around the corner, Santa Claus’ local team of reindeer was due to receive their official check-up to be cleared for flight.
Two of those reindeer, Belle and Noel, visited Mansfield Veterinary Hospital on Dec. 21 to see their official veterinarian, Dr. Laurie Hickox.
“They’re getting their health inspection today,” said Hickox. “These are the mommy reindeer that raise their babies. They have babies, then they go into training camp to become Santa’s reindeer.”
Belle and Noel are four-year-old reindeer who live at Kleerview Farm in Bellville. Their handler, Andrea Tingley, said the two female reindeer plus one male reindeer first came to the farm as babies.
“Both Belle and Noel have been wonderfully able to have babies the last two years,” Tingley said. “With that, now we’re up to seven reindeer. This spring we’re hoping to have three more.”
According to Tingley, reindeer are long-distance cousins of caribou in that both male and female reindeer have antlers. The male antlers shed around December and January, and female antlers shed around March close to when they are ready to calf. It takes only two months for the animals to regrow a full-size set of antlers.
“I always say they are like puppy dogs, they just kind of forget they have these big antlers,” Tingley said.
Hickox has been a practicing veterinarian in the area since 1992, and at her location at 1629 Park Avenue West for 13 years. However, this is Santa’s first visit to her office with his reindeer.
“Santa has threatened to bring them by before, but he just never has,” Hickox said. “They’ve stopped in at night and nibbled on the deer block, but they’ve never actually been here during the day.”
The best reindeer that become part of Santa Claus’ Christmas sleigh team have a good work ethic, Hickox said.
“A good reindeer is one that works, and one who doesn’t want to just eat peppermint sticks all day long,” she said with a laugh.
A crowd of both humans and animals filtered through Mansfield Veterinary Hospital on Wednesday, while people enjoyed hot chocolate, coffee, cookies and brownies, and pets visited with Santa Claus and tentatively sniffed the two reindeer.
Hickox said she invited the Kleerview Farm reindeer for the pure enjoyment of the season.
“You get to see the excitement of all the children, and they just enjoy it,” she said. “It seems like this year was so political and everything was so down. There just wasn’t a lot of fun this fall. So I said you know what, I want to bring the reindeer here.”
As for their flight readiness, the reindeer received a clean bill of health from their veterinarian.
“I think they’re looking like they’re good to fly,” Hickox reported.
