Ratan Tata’s dog Goa visits NCPA to pay homage to man who brought him to Mumbai

As celebrities and leaders arrived at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) to pay respects to Ratan Tata, who passed away last night after a brief illness at the age of 86, one special attendee was Tata’s dog Goa.
Goa came to pay homage to Tata, who had rescued him in Goa a few years ago and brought him back to Bombay House.
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A life-long animal lover, Ratan Tata frequently helped injured stray dogs and would regularly post adoption appeals on his Instagram account.
He bonded with his assistant Shantanu Naidu, 30, over their mutual love for the animals.
Naidu, a Tata employee for several years, had started a small business venture which aimed to put reflective collars on street dogs to help them avoid being hit by vehicle on the road.
He wrote to Tata seeking his help in funding the company. Tata responded by offering him a job as his assistant and appointed him the manager of Tata Trust. (Also read: Bill Gates shares photo with ‘visionary’ Ratan Tata: ‘Loss felt around world’)
Such was his love for dogs that once Ratan Tata chose to skip a royal award ceremony to stay by his ailing dog’s side.
In 2018, Tata was offered a lifetime achievement award at the Buckingham Palace in recognition of his outstanding philanthropic efforts.
While he initially agreed to attend the event, days before the ceremony, his pet dog fell severely ill.
In a resurfaced video, businessman Suhel Seth recounted recieving 11 missed calls from Tata one night. When he called him back, Tata explained that his dog had fallen ill. “I can’t leave him and come,” he insisted.
Despite Seth’s insistance, Tata chose to skip the Royal ceremony to care for his beloved pet.
Seth said the decision impressed King Charles III, who praised him, saying, “That’s the man Ratan is.” (Also read: How Ratan Tata impressed King Charles by skipping a ceremony to honour him)