Ratan Tata’s pet project, an animal hospital in Mumbai, to open next month

Tata recognised the need for a world-class animal hospital early on. He recalled the time he had to fly a pet to the University of Minnesota 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,” he said.

The Tata Trusts Small Animal Hospital was built at a cost of Rs 165 crore and covers five stories. It has the capacity for housing 200 patients. The team will be led by Thomas Heathcote, a British veterinarian who has relocated to Mumbai for the hospital.

When the project was initially announced in 2017, the hospital was supposed to be built in Navi Mumbai. However, Ratan Tata felt the long commute would act as a deterrent for pet parents and decided to move it to a more central location.

“This (distance) could've been a major deterrent for pet parents, especially those in need of emergency services. With this in mind, finding the right space for land and getting permissions was also a reason for delay,” the philanthropist and industrialist explained. The construction was further delayed by the Covid pandemic.

“It then took us about a year and a half to realign the agreements, documentation, and paperwork. By the time we returned to normalcy, the expenses of the hospital had also been impacted owing to inflationary costs of steel, manpower and availability of raw materials,” said Tata.