A Paw-fect Farewell to Ratan Tata: How the stray dogs of Mumbai have lost their best friend (2024)

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Dogs lost their best friend following the demise of Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman. Apart from his business acumen, which helped grow the Tata Group into a behemoth, the 86-year-old, who breathed his last on Wednesday night at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, was an ardent lover of animals, especially stray dogs.

It is said that his love for four-legged canines was the stuff of legend; he actually ditched an invite frim the English royal family at the last minute after his dog fell ill and had to be taken care of.

Moreover, the headquarters of the Tata Group, Bombay House, located in south Mumbai, welcomed stray dogs of the area with open arms, while visitors were frisked and staff were denied access without their security badges.

Even as his remains were taken to Mumbai’s Worli area for the last rites, dogs were made a part of the convoy — a reminder of what an important part they played in his life. His dog, Goa, also paid his last respects to Tata before the funeral.

VIP status to strays at Taj and Bombay House

Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel is one of India’s most luxurious hotels, housing celebrities, world leaders and even British royalty. The hotel, run by the Tatas, is also open to stray dogs, with Ratan Tata giving standing instructions to the staff to treat them well if they enter the premises.

This became known through a LinkedIn post that shared an image of a street dog peacefully sleeping at the entrance of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel. The professional who wrote about it on LinkedIn said that when she asked the staff about the presence of the canine, she was told that the dog had been part of the hotel since birth and that they had received strict directions from Ratan Tata to treat these animals well if they enter the premises.

And Tata’s love for dogs wasn’t restricted to Taj alone. At Bombay House, the company’s headquarters, dogs are given free access to the building. It is said that when Ratan Tata once saw a stray struggling in the rain, he issued specific instructions allowing full access to canines.

What is even more striking about this is that while the dogs move freely, every visitor is frisked and screened.

Following the renovation of the building in 2018, a separate space was also created for dogs with a controlled climate and comfortable cushions. A press release from the company had then read, “Some non-residents also visit the room from time to time for good food, warm beds, shelter from the rain or for the occasional vaccination or health check-up.”

Ditching a royal invite

Such was his love for dogs that Ratan Tata even ditched meeting the now-present king of England in 2018. The story goes like this. Then Prince Charles wanted to felicitate Ratan Tata for his exceptional philanthropic work and decided to hand him a lifetime achievement under the auspice of the British Asian Trust.

Everything was decided and Ratan Tata was to fly to the UK on February 6, 2018 for the event. However, at the last minute, Ratan Tata cancelled his trip. Why? His dog had fallen very sick.

Suhel Seth, recounting the incident, said that Tata had called him to give him the news. “Tango and Tito, my dogs—one of them has fallen terribly ill. I can’t leave him and come,” he told Seth.

When this was expressed to the British royal, he had remarked, “That’s a man. That’s the man Ratan is. That’s why the house of Tata is what it is. That’s why it’s on a stable course.”

An extraordinary pet parent

Ratan Tata’s love for dogs was also evident from the way he sheltered and adopted them and the numerous posts that he dedicated to his four-legged friends.

Numerous times he sought help from his 10.6 million followers on Instagram, asking them to adopt strays that he had found or noticed.

He also shared numerous posts on his love for Goa, a stray found in the state by the same name, before it came to Bombay House. There’s a tale that once Goa was found at Ratan Tata’s Elphinstone Building Office rather than Bombay House. It is said that the dog had walked from Bombay House to Elphinstone Building to be with Tata.

Funding a Rs 165-crore pet hospital

One of the biggest testaments of Ratan Tata’s love for dogs is the Small Animal Hospital he set up in Mumbai this year. He established the state-of-the-art hospital in Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi area across 98,000 square feet at a premium of Rs 165 crore.

The hospital provides 24x7 emergency care and is housed with advanced diagnostic imaging services, including CT scans, MRI, X-ray, and ultrasound; surgery units; specialty treatment (dermatology, dental, ophthalmology, etc); an in-house pathology lab; separate waiting areas for dogs and cats; and inpatient wards, among other things.

And the story behind this facility is personal. In an interview to Times of India, the business tycoon had revealed that he planned the hospital after he had to fly a pet dog to Minnesota, USA, to cure a dislocated joint. “A pet is no different from a member of one’s family today. As the guardian of several pets throughout my life, I recognise the need for this hospital,” he was quoted as saying.

In Ratan Tata’s loss, not only has India Inc lost a doyen, but animals have lost their biggest supporter.

With inputs from agencies

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