Tarbaby, The Pig That Would Not Grow

Jan. 2, 2001

I was asked to help with a rescued young pot-bellied pig that was having a lot of trouble growing up properly. Tarbaby was born in December 2000, thus was about a month old. She was small at birth and never nursed well.

Tarbaby as a young piglet.

The situation on presentation was that she could not walk properly, was stilted and slow. She would lie down rather than walk, or, if walking, would do so on her knees. If made to walk in the normal fashion, her knees would knock and wobble.

She acts cold, shivers, but seeks out cold corners. The client operates an animal shelter and has several other pigs. This one is the most friendly and affectionate, liking human attention. Pulsatilla was considered because of the outstanding seeking of attention and the desire for cold corners. Checking materia medica gave confirmed that Pulsatilla has a similar symptom. Both Allen’s Encyclopedia and Hahnemann's Materia Medica Pura describe pain in the limbs so severe that the patient was almost paralyzed from making an effort to walk. This was associated with weakness and shakiness of the legs.

So the prescription was Pulsatilla 30, once a day for 3 days.

Jan. 23, 2001

Not much change. Walks on the knees still. Can’t tell any effect from use of the remedy. X rays recently taken have shown that the knees and elbows are not calcified, e.g., not normal bone development. Prognosis of permanent disability or long-lasting illness.

Case re-evaluated in this way: If emphasize lack of normal development and a few of the other symptoms available to us and then limit our considerations to the remedies that Hahnemann tells us are suitable for the treatment of inherited chronic disease, we see some other choices. Here is a simple analysis.

After consideration, the remedy Calcarea carbonica was selected as the best choice and was given as one dose of 10M potency.

Feb. 14, 2001

Has grown to almost normal size. Improved right after remedy. Walks and runs normally.

May 10, 2001

Has continued fine. Knees normal. No wobbling or knocking. Runs normally. Still somewhat smaller body than other pigs.

Tarbaby as an adult.

August 14, 2001

Still doing well, active and moving normally.

Comments: It is interesting that Calcarea was the remedy needed in this case when the patient presented with a desire to be in the coldest corners. One would think that Pulsatilla would have had some effect, but no. It took the antipsoric remedy to move the case.