Stray dogs of south Mumbai lose their best friend, Ratan Tata

Mumbai: Bombay House is different from any other conglomerate's headquarters. While every visitor is frisked at the entrance of the colonial-era building, one should not be surprised to see a street dog stroll in nonchalantly.

For decades, specific instructions have been issued to the staff to allow a free entry and exit for the strays who may want to come in.

All of it is courtesy the love and concern for the canines of one man, Ratan Tata, who held office as the chairman of Tata Sons between 1991 and 2012, and came back later for a short stint.

The former Tata Group chairman breathed his last at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Wednesday. He was 86.

Legend has it that once Tata was moved to see an stray dog battling it out in the rain outside Bombay House, which led to the specific instruction on allowing full access to the premise for canines.

The empathy for the strays was so deep that when the Group gentrified the Bombay House a few years ago, a dedicated kennel was built on the ground floor of the property from 2018 onwards.

The kennel spread across a large room is equipped with a slew of amenities, which would also catch the average human's envy.

For starters, there is a dedicated area where they are bathed by an attendant, and then there is a bunk bed which they can climb on for taking naps.

There are blinds to ensure that the entire room with large windows has climate control to make it truly the best rest which a dog can get.

A few of the strays are permanent Bombay House residents, but often, there are visitors as well who are allowed and get the same treatment.

Ratan Tata's love for pets, and particularly strays, extends far beyond the ones in the immediate vicinity of Bombay House.

Earlier this year, a guest staying at the Tata Group's IHCL-run Taj Hotel shared a heartwarming tale of a stray dog sleeping peacefully at the premium hotel's entrance and was told about its roots being in Ratan Tata's instructions.

Tata Trusts, which was headed by Ratan Tata, had also built a small pet hospital at a prime place in south central Mumbai's Mahalaxmi.

In fact, it was the shared concern for pets which connected Ratan Tata with his long-time assistant Shantanu Naidu. According to some reports, Pune-based Naidu wrote to Tata about a dog collar with reflectors to ensure safety of the dog.