This rescue dog has been enjoying a pirate's life - riding a boat with its owner every day to work in Thailand.

The canine 'buccaneer' named Mickey was adopted by Manachai Soyping, 53, when he was found abandoned while still just a pup in Bangkok.

Today, Mickey accompanies his master on his daily boat rides ferrying locals and tourists along a canal.

Like a seasoned seaman, Mickey stations himself on the motorboat's bow as the watercraft coasts along the stream.

Manachai said he had first met the dog a decade ago, at the Wat Thong Nai temple where his son was being ordained as a monk.

He decided to bring the stray pooch home, not knowing it would cling to him and follow him everywhere - even on the boat he uses to make a living.

Manachai said: 'This year Mickey turns 13. Wherever I go, you'll see him next to me.

'When I pick the students up using the boat, Mickey will also join me. Even when I bring tourists along for boat rides, Mickey would come and sit with us.

'Everybody knew him. Sometimes foreigners would walk up to me and ask how Mickey is and where he was.

'He used to sit with the tourists, but he has stopped doing so these days. Maybe it's his age.'