Photos: Neighbors communicate with Nextdoor.com

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Star the Reindeer looks out a windows from her enclosure at the corner of 10th Avenue and I Street. About 300 residents of the South Addition, including Star's keeper Albert Whitehead, have become members of Nextdoor.com, a neighborhood-specific social network for exchanging updates. Whitehead has been encouraging use of the network since someone tried to break into Star's pen two years ago. At that time, he realized he didn't know enough about his neighbors. Photographed on Saturday, January 3, 2015.

It started as a quest to protect a reindeer.

About two years ago, somebody tried to break into Albert Whitehead's house on 10th Avenue, near downtown Anchorage. They also tried to break into the pen of Whitehead's well-known pet reindeer, Star.

Whitehead later learned from police that the culprits lived in his neighborhood. He decided, at that moment, he needed a way to know his neighbors better. He went online, did some research, and came across what he was looking for: A free website and application called Nextdoor.com.

Today, largely due to his efforts, more than 320 people in Whitehead's neighborhood of South Addition are now members of Nextdoor, posting about everything from alerts about car break-ins to requests for recommendations on a drywall contractor. The site, which might be described as a virtual neighborhood watch, is taking hold in other places in Anchorage, too, with Whitehead emerging as the city's de-facto Nextdoor spokesperson and staunchest advocate.

"That's why Nextdoor started (in Anchorage), because of protection for Star," Whitehead said. "And it took off from there."

READ MORE: 'Nextdoor' app aims to connect neighborhoods in Anchorage