While Ratan Tata‘s love for animals is well documented, it is also no secret that the only denizens allowed to walk into Bombay House – the Tata Group‘s century-old headquarters in Mumbai – without an access card are stray dogs. When the century-old heritage building was renovated and reopened in July 2018, the 86-year-old chairman of Tata Trusts is believed to have allocated a room for the welfare of streets dogs in the vicinity.
Apart from non-residents who saunter in now and then, the swish yellow ground-floor kennel – that has a flap door, a bathing area and a team of doctors – houses the formerly-homeless Goa, Sweety, Junior, Simba, Chhotu, Rana, Jackal, Bushy and Munni as permanent residents. Besides cushions, toys and chewies, their upgraded lifestyle apparently entails food boiled in the five-star’s kitchen.

His social media accounts offer a visual collage of Tata’s love for canines. Sur, Sprite and Myra are among the hounds in need on behalf of whom he has posted timely pleas seeking things like blood donation and adoption. “Of all the different sufferings that animals today have to go through, my heart truly breaks for the ones that get abandoned by families. I cannot imagine what must go through their minds when one day they have a home, and the next they don’t,” read a post urging people to adopt 9-month-old Myra, a dog that had been abandoned.

Another monsoon-related post talked about the importance of checking under the car before turning it on to avoid injuries to stray animals taking shelter.

On the 14th birthday of his late dog, Tito, the caption under a picture posted on Instagram that showed the veteran holding his pet’s paw read: “I still come home to two kind souls and meet so many others in and around the office. While few have the comfort of families, many struggle on the streets, and yet somehow, their affection remains the same. Those of you who strive for the welfare of the voiceless, truly have my respect.”

It was Tata’s transcontinental struggle to find advanced care for his injured dog that recently led to the birth of six-month-old Small Animal Hospital Mumbai (SAHM) – a 98,000 square-feet facility in Mahalaxmi that offers round-the-clock medical care for dogs, cats, rabbits, and other small animals. In an exclusive interview with TOI before the hospital’s inauguration, Tata had recalled the ordeal he faced before he flew his dog to University of Minnesota in the US for a joint replacement. “But I was too late, and so they froze the dog’s joint in a particular position. That experience enabled me to see what a world-class veterinary hospital was equipped to do.”

“In a world where pandemics are caused by the proximity of animals and humans; where rabies still kills; and where there is a rising storm of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; animal health is more important than ever,” says the hospital’s chief veterinary officer Dr Thomas Heathcote in a quote mentioned on the hospital website, adding that SAHM believe in partnering with pet parents and other vets of Mumbai to create a positive world “where health and wellness are achievable, and medical assistance is accessible to all.”