Everyone needs a friend, even a well-heeled businessman like Ratan Tata.
Yesterday (Nov. 18), the former chairman of the over 150-year-old Tata Group shared photos of Diwali celebration with the legendary dogs of Bombay House, and his “office companion” Goa.
Bombay House, an almost 100-year-old building in south Mumbai, is the global headquarters of Tata Group. The building is also home to a bunch of adopted Indian stray dogs. And Goa is the leader of this pack. “He was the stray puppy who got into my colleague’s car in Goa and came all the way to Bombay House, hence we named him Goa,” 82-year-old Tata wrote on Instagram.
Goa “would wait for him (Ratan Tata) to arrive each morning at Bombay House and ride up the elevator with him. Goa had even earmarked a couch to sleep on in the office,” a long-time occupant of Bombay House, who wished to remain anonymous had told The Economic Times in January.
Tata’s fondness for dogs is widely known.
In fact, it was Tata’s love that led to a dedicated space for strays in the Bombay House building. Earlier, the dogs would loiter around the premises and could be often seen sleeping in corridors, but in 2018, the building was renovated and they got their own room.
The room, which is well-stocked with toys, has a flap door at the base of the main door for the dogs to move in and out at will. Their meals reportedly come from the kitchens of Tata Group’s 5-star hotel, Taj.
Earlier this year, Tata had attended a painting exhibition of the Dogs of Bombay House by Meghna Amonkar.