Marley Grey 2018-2026
Marley was absolutely brilliant. His light was so bright that you couldn’t help but feel the warmth of his presence. He was joyful and lighthearted, silly and goofy, kind and loving, and always welcomed everyone into his meadows.
Marley was rescued in 2018 from a Lancaster, PA dairy farm where he was originally destined for slaughter. Boy calves (steers) are not needed in the dairy industry like the females are so they are discarded like trash or sold as a meal. Marley was destined for something bigger in life and with rescue he grew as big as they come. In fact he grew over 6 ft tall at the shoulders and 3000 lbs in total!
Marley LOVED to eat and snacks were his favorite. He’d eat an entire cake in one gulp! Next to eating Marley loved his family the most. He grew up side by side with Dakota and Morty while Charlie, Saturn, Jupiter, and the Jersey Girls joined in the herd later. He befriended birds, cats, alpacas, goats, pigs, and especially humans.
Marley’s unique admiration for people charmed those who met him. His innocent eyes could stir your soul enticing you to see truly see him. To be in his presence was a gift beyond words. The only thing bigger than Marley himself was his heart! His love was pure.
For 8 years Marley lived an extraordinary life in sanctuary. Something most steer don’t get to experience at all. His life was full of joy and his happiness was contagious. Anyone who met him felt his love.
Marley started showing signs of laminitis, a severe sometimes fatal inflammatory disease of the sensitive tissue (laminae) inside an animal’s hoof that bonds the hoof wall to the pedal bone, in 2025 and we immediately got him treatment. Along with medication he had a special new diet and was showing improvement weekly. His next step was to see a special farrier to help his hooves and we scheduled him accordingly.
On the day of his appointment disaster struck. Marley slipped on thick ice that was hidden under a layer water and fell down hard. Unknowing if there was any damage we moved quickly to break and clear the ice under him and pump out the water so he could try to stand.
American Demolition came out with a small team of men and an excavator yet we still couldn’t lift him. Next was to try a tool called a hip clamp attached to the excavator to help lift him. We were successful but Marley still couldn’t get his footing under him enough to stand. We continued to rotate him from side to side to alleviate pressure and massage and exercise his legs. Despite all our lifting, medication, motivation, and energy Marley couldn’t get up. His large body was just too tired from fighting for four days. From the words of our vet “ His prognosis is grave at this point and I do believe he meets the definition of medical suffering, meaning he continues to endure treatment without a reasonable chance of a positive outcome. I know you know him best, but I did find him to be very agitated, anxious, and uncomfortable yesterday too. I think the right thing is most definitely euthanasia”.
We had to let our baby go. We made the unbearable decision to let his body rest. Marley’s life was too short but his legacy will always live on. Marley Grey was a bright rainbow in this dark world and his brilliance shines on forever.
I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to us during this difficult time. Thank you for your love and support. Thank you to American Demolition and Amanda and Morgan for being there nonstop. Thank you to Butterhof’s Feed Store for helping with necessary supplies. Thank you to Scooter for working so hard for Marley. Thank you Dr. Jacob for your support and honesty. Thank you to Lee and Wulf for never giving up. Even during his last days Marley was bringing people together.
If you’d like to make a donation in Marley’s honor please use one of the links below:
Venmo: MarleyMeadowsNJ
PayPal.me/MarleyMeadowsNJ
CashApp:$MarleyMeadowsNJ
Marley Meadows Animal Sanctuary 