When Misty Moore first saw Romeo in a veal crate at a dairy farm he was only 10 days old and about the size of a Great Dane. She knew she couldn’t leave him headed to a predetermined destiny — a decrepit slaughter house.
Moore, the founder of Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary in Creswell, raised the calf into the “gentle giant” he is today.
“Moo,” Romeo says, eyeing the produce and other treats in Moore’s hands.
“He was a big baby,” Moore says. “But I still definitely had no idea that he was just going to continue to grow and grow and grow.”
Now standing at a monolithic six feet, four-and-a-half inches measured from his withers, Romeo’s destined to go down in Creswell’s history books. He’s already in national history books — or at least in Guinness World Records.
In 2023, Guinness recognized Romeo as the world’s tallest living steer — a castrated male bovine. Moore says they’ve never been able to get an exact weight, but they believe he weighs around 3,500 pounds.
Romeo is now a six-and-a-half-year-old Holstein who loves hanging out with his brother Milo and his pen-mates Oliver, Charlie and Buster. This Eugene Weekly reporter and arts editor emeritus Bob Keefer got to feed Romeo and his bovine family bananas, apples and even goat-feed.
Milo came from the same dairy as Romeo, while Oliver and Charlie — also brothers — came from a different dairy farm. The final herdmate, Buster, broke down a fence to join the sanctuary’s herd.
They’re all total sweethearts who love being around people. Maybe just for the produce, but Romeo and his herd, lovers of fruit and all things produce, don’t seem to mind one way or the other.
Moore says she runs the Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary out of her love for animals. Rescuing Romeo from a gruesome death, she says she wants to give the animals in her care a place to live out their days in peace.
“That’s just the beauty of sanctuary. They get to mature and grow up and live out a whole life,” she says. “Most male [cattle] in the dairy industry don’t make it.”
She believes that Romeo’s height would be considered average if it weren’t for the fact that most male Holstein cattle are slaughtered for veal before they can mature. “If more Holsteins were allowed to mature that size wouldn’t be anything extraordinary,” she says.
Moore doesn’t just take care of Romeo’s extended bovine family. While they are at capacity, there are 80 animals of all shapes and sizes in the Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary, and all of them are rescues. We’re talking about ducks, goats, pigs, sheep, dogs, cats and a turkey.
Pickles, a “rockstar” pig who, despite his spinal malformation, is able to get around well and thrive, and Wilbur, the sanctuary’s unofficial turkey tour guide, did not leave EW’s side while we were there.
“They have differing stories and backgrounds, but they’ve all overcome challenges,” Moore says, “and the beauty of watching them trust humans again makes it all worth it.”
To donate or find volunteer opportunities, go to WelcomeHomeSanctuary.com.