Parel’s drug mules and flying secret agents

Hersquos not the onemdashno that guy is known to be notoriousrdquo warns Col Dr BB Kulkarni The lsquoguyrsquo he refers to is a large white horse with a penchant for misbehaving with the cow ward staff at Parelrsquos Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals The beast wersquove been eagerly waiting for is Sultan a celebrity resident of the hospital who arrived 15 years ago As the brown and black horse surveys his kingdom Chief Medical Superintendent Col Kulkarni tells us ldquoSultan was first brought here because of an injured hoof and joint He never left because where will a chronically injured horse go in a city like Mumbairdquo Fittingly a carved bust of Sakarbaimdashwife of textile mills owner Dinshaw Maneckji Petit after whom the hospital is namedmdashhung over the entrance of the main office too features a gallantlooking horseThe expansive cow ward was built to meet the needs of the 19th centuryThe lively grounds of the 140yearold hospital animated by the sounds of hawks mooing cows and dogs barking in unison made headlines in 2023 They were the site where a suspected spy was brought in by the policemdasha pigeon captured in May because of the red and green markings suspected to be in Chinese on its wings and the metal rings tied to its legs The Parel hospital where it underwent basic tests gave it a clean chit of health and it was released in late January rather anticlimactically ldquoItrsquos an unusual solitary caserdquo says Col Kulkarni who has battled questions from curious journalists of national and international publications in the last fortnight The administrators say that the pigeon made the hospital surroundings its home over half a year fraternising with the other pigeons in the bird ward They wonder if it is flying not too far from hereThe Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital is singular in this regard in matters of officialdom crime atrocities against animals and civic upkeep the neutering of street animals authorities line up at its doorstep ldquoIt is the oldest hospital in the city and the only one of its kindrdquo Col Kulkarni informs ldquoJust last year we were sought out in a case involving geese which were seized by the policerdquoSultan the horse is a celebrity resident at the hospitalmdashhaving arrived 15 years ago The institution has become a home for a number of lsquoownerlessrsquo animals like himIn his 12 years as an administrator at the hospital Dr Mayur Dangar has overseen cases of suspected illegal trademdashone of these involved nearly 2000 parakeets while another involved 80 goats who were allegedly carriers for drugs ldquoWe conducted Xrays on all the goats of which 12 had substances in their stomach We operated on the animals in question and removed the packets of illicit material handing them over to the policerdquo Dr Dangar explainsEstablished by Parsi entrepreneur Petit in 1883 it was run by the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals BSPCA till 2020 after which the organisationrsquos duties in cruelty prevention were assigned to a statelevel SPCA and governmental ministries and departments Historically it was Sakarbai and not a medical centre for humans that was the first hospital founded in the area Most Mumbaikars know it simply as lsquoParel hospitalrsquo a reliable place where their beloved pets will get the best most affordable medical care in the cityAlongside mighty Sultan another star guest at the hospital included a dog wounded during the 2008 terror attacksmdashone who lived out his last years here with a bullet lodged in his throat in true martyr style ldquoThe dog survived for half a decadehellip We couldnrsquot take the bullet out because it would cause further damage to the patientrsquos airwayrdquo staff member Suresh Gaikwad informs adding that it is part of the hospitalrsquos core philosophy that it cannot turn back an injured animalLeft to right Suresh Gaikwad Colonel Retd Dr BB Kulkarni and Dr Mayur Dangar who ensure the hospital is a welloiled machine servicing over 30 new patients each dayCol Kulkarni invites us into the main office which dates back to the 19th century like many of the structures on the fouracre campus The built infrastructure of the hospital was designed to meet the needs of the era when many city residents domesticated horses and cowsmdashresulting in wards with high ceilings and large spaces where the patients could be made to lie down At the present cow ward the staff will encourage a patient with an amputated heel and hoof to use a prosthetic implant ldquoIn those days bullock and horse carts were the norm In fact even when I trained in the 1970s cows were more frequently brought inrdquo he saysThough cats and dogs may be the average patients today Sakarbai has offered its medical facilities in cases where wild animals have wandered into the city like hog deer or monkeys who got electrocuted One such case involved a jackal found at Vashirsquos Palm Beach Road in 2015 ldquoIt was brought in with hind leg paralysis We managed to cure it such that it could be sent back into the wildrdquo Dr Dangar saysWe walk through the different wards and Col Kulkarni is able to recognise each animalrsquos condition without referring to the patient file and knowing when they will be well enough for discharge When he notices a dog shivering in a corner of its kennel he sits down to pet it and quickly orders the staff to help it stay warm The staffmdashwho carry out Xrays and other tests clean the kennels and help the doctors from Mumbai Veterinary Collegemdashare trained personally for a month by Col Kulkarni He follows in the footsteps of Lt Colonel JC Khanna and other retired army veterinarians who were entrusted with the responsibility to run the hospitalWhen the hospital still performed the duties of the BSPCA and served as an infirmary it was home to more lsquoownerlessrsquo animals that it could manage They would often be the survivors of atrocity and violence brought here to be treated with no home to return to Sometimes they would be injured strays brought in by good samaritans who did not followup and rehabilitate the dog back to the neighbourhood where they found it Sakku a portly cat who has been at the hospital for 15 years is among its lsquoownerlessrsquo inhabitants others include a pony 20odd dogs and a handful of raptorsldquoIn a few cases even after treatment the animalrsquos condition is such that it cannot go back to living on the street among other straysrdquo says Col Kulkarni calling out to Coco a dog that continues to prance around happily despite losing two legs The superintendent is trying to inculcate a sense of accountability in these samaritans ldquoItrsquos not unusual for us to find animals tied to the gates outside left behind by those who cannot care for them anymorerdquo Hersquos also trying to ramp up the institutionrsquos adoption numbersPerhaps the hospitalrsquos biggest challenge is the maintenance of its heritage infrastructure The grounds also feature the eerielooking skeleton of what was once a pathology lab which will lie unused until it is refurbished With an eye to the future Col Kulkarni visualises a building where animals can be given medical care and recuperate at close quarters ldquoTime and efficiency are of the essence in these matters If all the facilities were under one roof it would be possible to take the animal from the operating table to its ward convenientlymdashfor the staff and for the animalrdquoIn the coming months it is going to invest in its social media game so it can reach newer generations ldquoThe show we put up on our social media could be far better we should be posting interesting anecdotes from the cases we have worked onrdquo Dr Dangar remarks Since he first joined the hospital he has observed a growing willingness to update established techniques and try novel experimental methodsThe hospital has also rethought its approach in terms of charging for treatment offering discounted services when needed to ensure its own longevity What has kept it going thus far is its trustrsquos corpus as well as the generosity of donors like Parvez Minoo Mistry whose contributions were a shot in the arm for concerns like repairs ldquoWhatever comes our way we have to keep the hospital goingrdquo says Col Kulkarni ldquoThe ideal way forward would be to build the corpus fund This will allow us to sustain ourselves annuallyrdquo12kNo of animals treated annually at BSDPHThe inhabitantsBai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospitalrsquos capacity for animal treatment in numbersDogs rsaquorsaquo 150Cats rsaquorsaquo 80Cattle rsaquorsaquo 40Birds rsaquorsaquo 25Horses rsaquorsaquo 16