The staff at Claremont Parkway Care Home have tackled some strange problems in their time but probably nothing beats coaxing reindeer – sporting 4ft wide antlers – up to the first floor.
The stairs are out of the question so it will have to be the lift for 11-year-old furry friends Mischa and Boris...
Luckily their owner Karen Fitzpatrick and handler Jane Rice are pros, and the animals manage the journey that is a tad different from pulling Santa’s sleigh.
Ride upstairs complete, the pair stroll into the bedrooms of some of the less mobile of the home’s 61 residents, and are rewarded with huge smiles.
Michael French, who is celebrating his 83rd birthday in his bed surrounded by cards, beams as he pats them, later saying: “It was lovely seeing them today. It’s got me into the Christmas spirit.”
For general manager Natalie Maxwell, it was important as many residents were involved as possible in the festive visit at the care home in Kettering, Northants.
“This time last year, we had an outbreak of Covid, so we wanted to make it as special as we could for residents, and a few of them mentioned that they’d like to see reindeer,” she says.
“With the residents who are nursed in bed, it can be difficult to do activities with them but we want them to be involved as much as possible. It’s why we’ve taken the reindeer into the rooms, so everybody can join in.”
Due to the pandemic, the event is the first indoor care home visit Karen has done with her reindeer since 2019.
While she did wonder how the animals would cope after their break, the friendly, docile animals take to the work again easily.
Although there is one slight problem – they keep leaving, er, presents behind for the residents they meet.
“Never work with animals!” laughs Karen.
Thankfully, there is a member of staff on hand with a poop scoop.
Karen, 61, has worked with reindeer full-time for 10 years. She started out with a herd of five, which over the years has grown, and she now has 18 animals making up her company Luxlyk Reindeer.
The animals also deliver festive cheer to hospices, schools, fetes, Christmas light switch-ons and Santa grottos.
Five of them have the right temperament to do busy events. They are taken out two or three at a time as they are herd animals and dislike being alone. Karen also has a further two in training. “How long it takes to train up a reindeer really depends from animal to animal as they all have different personalities,” she explains. “Once you meet them, you realise what characters they are. They are all individuals.”
Boris was not named after our former Partygate Prime Minister, but Karen says he is “very lazy”.
Mischa is inquisitive, and can even do tricks, later hopping up with her hooves on to the railings of her pen, where she is rewarded with a fistful of delicious lichen from Karen.
Christmas is, unsurprisingly, the busiest time of year for the herd.
The other months are taken up with breeding, training and cuddles. During the summer, the animals, which are native to the Arctic Circle, splash around in their paddling pools to keep cool.
“The reindeer are very lucky – they only work three weeks of the year and the other 11 months they have a bit of a break and have a lovely time,” says Karen.
“They are high-maintenance animals that do require a lot of upkeep, so there’s always something to be doing with them when they’re not being taken out.”
Along with their bedroom visits at Claremont Parkway, Boris and Mischa hang out in the TV room, where they meet Brian Robinson, 77, and health care assistant Beverley Warwick, who offers a tasty treat for their efforts.
Manager Natalie adds having reindeer visit the home is a first.
“We often get animals in,” she says. “Guinea pigs once a week as well as smaller creatures such as snakes, spiders and chickens once a month – as you can take them from room to room easily. Today is a bit different, you don’t usually see many homes having reindeer inside.”
Studies have shown that spending time with animals can help lower depression, lessen the release of the stress hormone cortisol and improve cognitive function.
A few of the residents at Claremont Parkway have dementia and animals can be therapeutic for people who are living with the condition.
“They’ve all been looking forward to the visit,” says Natalie. “It’s not just festive, it gives them a bit of therapy too as they’re able to stroke and feed them.”
“There’s a lot of benefits to meeting the reindeers,” adds Karen. “They have such soft fur that a lot of people get sensory therapy from stroking them.”
Over the years, Karen has witnessed first-hand the magic of her four-legged friends.
She recalls: “Pre-Covid, we were doing a talk inside a nursing home, and at the end the manager came over and said, ‘Would you mind going back to that lady over there, she can’t see’. It turned out she was blind, so I let her feed them lichen.
“She started stroking them, burst into tears and spoke. The manager then told me it was the first time she had spoken for two years, as she had become so introverted from losing her sight.
“Everybody was in tears. It really showed the power of the animals.”
Indoor visits completed at the care home, the reindeer are taken to their outdoor pen, decorated in a pair of antlers which came from one of Karen’s male deer – they typically lose theirs in November, regrowing them for the spring.
As they chew on hay, they meet a group of 28 children from Busy Bees nursery, before more residents come out to meet them. These include former show horse owner Jayne Spencer, 63.
Wrapped up in a blanket, she has a big smile on her face as she pets Mischa and feeds her some lichen.
“I’m originally from Canada, so I’m familiar with reindeer, I’ve seen a lot of them before,” she says. “I love animals, so this has been lovely for me. They’re so friendly. Today has been really nice.”
Meanwhile, Roy Burrows, 82, has been a resident at the care home for four months, and says seeing the reindeer was absolutely wonderful.
He adds: “They’re such delightful animals. I’ve never seen them before today except on TV and in pictures – I stroked and fed one and I never expected I’d see that in Kettering.
“It’s brightened up my Christmas. Full marks to the home for getting them in.”
As the reindeer are led back into their trailer, Claremont Parkway’s activities coordinator Angel Weaver says: “Today has been very uplifting for the residents. So many have said they’ve loved it, we’ve put them in the Christmas spirit.
“Walking past with the reindeer, you can see the difference in residents’ faces. They’ve been lighting up. We’ll definitely be getting them back next year.”
