CHESHIRE, Mass. - A steer in Cheshire known as "Tommy the Ox" now has the Guinness World Record as World’s Tallest Living Steer, and will be in the 2024 edition of the record book.

"We got him, he was a day old, and he just kept growing and growing and growing," said Fred Balawender, Tommy's owner. "And he just got to be, and he was my friend, you know? That's why he's still here.”

Tommy has a few nicknames on top of his world-renowned title.

“We call him Tom," Fred's granddaughter Emma Balawender said. "I call him Mr. Moo-Moo or Potato.”

Fred Balawender is one of Tommy’s caretakers and his bestfriend. The Brown Swiss ox turns 15 years old on Dec. 15, according to Balawender. With a record-breaking height of 6'1" from his hooves to his shoulders, Tommy is about eight feet tall when you add his head and horns.

Balawender said Tommy is a smart gentle giant. He loves other animals, including his “girlfriend” Daisy, and he always welcomes visitors.

“Out of thousands of cows that I've had over the years, I mean, I've been with cattle since I was 11 years old and I'm going to be 80 pretty soon," Balawender said. "I've never had an animal this docile, this gentle and just a loving animal.”

Balawender said Tommy weighs about 3,000 pounds, and while his diet has been dialed back over the years, he still loves to eat. He and four other steers were named after NFL quarterbacks, but much like his NFL namesake, Tommy’s just built different than the rest.

“This guy just really, he just towered over all the others," Balawender said. "I don't know why genetically. I have no idea. I almost changed his name when Brady left the Patriots. You know, I almost did, but I said I can't change his name. But, I actually had five Brown Swiss and we named them after Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and Eli.”

Tommy gets all the hay he wants at Balawender’s farm in Cheshire where their main crop is hay. Balawender said it’s been a tough year of flooded fields, but no matter what, he always looks forward to seeing his good friend Tom.

“Most farmers can't afford to have animals as pets," Balawender said. "I mean, we can't either. But at the same time, you know, you've got to have some enjoyment. This is a tough business. You know, farming is a really tough business. And to be able to have something like this, to kind of distract you, the world situation the way it is at times, you need to have a distraction. I wish everybody could have an animal like Tom. I wish they could.”