Slow Mornings: Thong at Seven, and a River House in Kanchanaburi

Thong turned seven this year. In dog years that makes him a gentleman of a certain age, and I notice it in small things: he takes a second longer to stand up, he sleeps a little deeper on his pool float, and he no longer chases the ball more than six times. He is still a golden retriever to the bone, still smiling at everyone, but the pace of our life has changed.

So when my wife suggested a road trip to Kanchanaburi, I said yes on one condition: slow. Rayong to Kanchanaburi is a long drive, so we split it with a night near Bangkok and stopped every two hours so that Thong could drink and stretch. Fon, our Russian Blue, stayed home with my mother-in-law, mostly because she has made it very clear that cars are beneath her.

The river house we found was a simple wooden bungalow with a wide porch and steps down to the water. The owner said dogs were welcome as long as they did not climb on the beds, and then brought Thong a bowl of water without being asked. He lay on the porch and watched the longtail boats go by like a retired captain. In the late afternoon, when the sun was soft, I walked him into the shallow water, and the old golden puppy appeared again. He swam in slow circles, then chose a stick, then a bigger stick, and gave me a look that said he was ready to run the Bridge on the River Kwai.

Of course we are careful. Before the trip we asked our vet to check him, and she told us about joint comfort, short walks and not letting him exercise in the midday heat. We took his usual food, a wet towel for the car and a mat for the floor. At night, he slept between our beds with his head on my wife's shoe.

I came back from Kanchanaburi with a better idea of what getting old can look like for a dog: softer mornings, smaller adventures, bigger naps. Next time we will stay three nights, not two. Thong has already approved the plan by sleeping on the suitcase.