The president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) returned this week from a health check-up at the North Pole, declaring Santa's reindeer to be healthy, free of disease, and ready for their Christmas Eve flight.
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"I can assure you that all of them are in healthy condition and are all ready to go for Christmas Eve," said Dr. Rene Carlson, the official veterinarian of the North Pole. In this role, Dr. Carlson is charged with providing the yearly health exam for Santa's reindeer. The annual exam makes sure the Reindeer are healthy and not showing any signs of disease hat can be transmitted to other animals. "They also need to be healthy, so they're less likely to catch any diseases themselves on that long flight" said Dr. Carlson. The reindeer received their official "North Pole Certificate of Animal Export" that provides Santa with the documents he and his reindeer need to travel.
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Dr. Carlson will make a follow-up trip to the North Pole prior to Christmas to make sure the reindeers' feet and legs are in good shape to take off and land on the rooftops and that they're still ready for the flight. She'll also perform a nose-check on Rudolph to make sure it's good to glow.
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For kids who want to help the reindeer on their journey, Dr. Carlson recommended leaving a plate of graham cracker reindeer cookies, their favorite snack, for Santa to feed them between stops.
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