My furry neighbor

Star the Reindeer
Originally uploaded by t-dawg.

It's about time I posted about my neighbor, Star the Reindeer. She lives in a cage about a block from my house. One might find this a little sad, but she seems pretty happy. Except, that is, when I walked too close to her cage. In the above photo, she was sort of running towards the fence, and rammed it with her antlers. I couldn't tell if she was saying "greetings" or "get lost." Olive barks her face off when she sees the reindeer.

Anyway, apparently Star has a long history in Anchorage. The current Star is not the first Star--every time they get a new reindeer, she gets named Star. This article from 2005 introduced us to Star VI, the lovely lady pictured above. The tradition begain in 1962 with the Stewart family, who own a camera shop about a block from my office. They got the first Star from a reindeer herder in Nome. When Ivan Stewart died, family friends the Whiteheads took over Star's care. They frequently take Star out for walks around the neighborhood, to community events (one of which I expect to attend this afternoon--stay tuned), and hire her out for children's parties.

Here is an Anchorage Press article from 2001 about Star, detailing her checkered history and many accomplishments. This is my favorite part, I think it's so sweet:

Although there are reindeer consumers worldwide, including the untold Alaska tourists each year who try out Tom Williams’ reindeer sausage, Stewart does not count herself among them.

"I never touch the stuff," she says.

According to this article from the ADN, some evildoers recently tried to lure Star VI out of her cage. The clever reindeer instead opted to take a nap, perhaps understanding that "freedom's just another word for reindeer sausage." Star IV was the victim of an attack during which a man broke off a piece of her antler and took it with him. And poor Star III died from eating plastic bags tossed into her cage. All these events have resulted in a serious chain link fence (I think triple-thick) and round-the-clock video surveillance.


Star the Reindeer
Originally uploaded by t-dawg.