No-Head Nellie

Usually our stories tend to be a bit on the... dark side, MMers, but today we've got a a heartwarming story for you. For this one we're traveling all the way to Johnson Mountain Township just south of Jackman. The story comes to us by way of Brock Easton who claims his great-grandfather had a dog with no head. As unbelievable as this seems, there are plenty of records of No-Head Nellie that seem to corroborate Brock's story. We'll try to stick to just the facts. 

Weston "Butch" Easton and his wife, Margery, 1938

Brock's great-grandfather, Weston "Butch" Easton lived in Jackman in the 1930s and 40s. One of the family dogs gave birth to a litter of pups and one of them was born with no head. Butch figured the pup was stillborn because of its deformity, so he was completely surprised when the headless pup began to crawl around. Butch immediately brought the pup to a local vet, who after his initial skepticism, did pronounce the pup as alive. He recommended that Butch put the animal down as it would never lead a full life. Butch refused. Instead, for the next fifteen years he raised No-Head Nellie and loved her as dearly as any animal companion.

According to Brock, who heard all of this from his grandfather, Butch's son, Carter, Butch took No-head Nellie on the road, showing her at local fairs and carnivals. Butch would feed Nellie through an IV injection, twice a day. Nellie could walk, run, wag her tail, even shake hands and roll over. If all this sounds incredible, it really is. To this day scientists have no idea how Nellie lived for fifteen years! But here's the proof. Brock has a picture he found in his grandfather's stuff. The picture was labeled 1947.

No-Head Nellie circa 1947

On top of that we were able to uncover a flyer from the 1949 Fryeburg Fair, and sure enough it mentions Butch Easton and his amazing No-head Nellie. Brock is working on going through the rest of his late grandfather's possessions, hoping to find more pictures from his great-grandfather, but he does recall his Grampa Carter (who passed away in 2019 at 92 years old!) telling stories of No-Head Nellie. He recalls his grandfather had a photo album full of Butch and Nellie's adventures, but so far Brock has been unable to locate it. He even remembers his grandfather telling him that Ripley's Believe it or Not at one point wanted to purchase Nellie's remains after she passed, however he was unsure whether the sale actually happened.

Brock Easton is attempting to put together a museum for No-Head Nellie. He says that if you or anyone you know has any information or possible pictures of No-Head Nellie, please contact him at: no-headnellie@yahoo.com. We'll keep our eyes peeled and hope you will too!

Help out Brock! Find some old pics of No-Head Nellie.

Stay safe out there, Maine!