A four-month-old puppy is recovering after a bizarre incident which left its owner’s house badly smoke damaged.

Stanley, a black Labrador, is making healthy progress after it leapt up onto a cooker and switched one of the rings on.

The heat melted a hamster cage placed on top of a ceramic hob, filling the Queenborough Road property with thick, black smoke.

It led to the fire brigade being called to rescue the stricken pet.

Deb Hague, the puppy’s owner, said: "Stanley’s practically back to normal now.

"But it’s devastating, absolutely devastating to think how your life can change in a matter of hours."

Stanley’s smoke-fuelled drama happened last Friday.

Ms Hague, who is a nurse, had gone to work and asked a friend living nearby to check on her pet.

She had placed her hamster, Vinny, in its cage on top of the kitchen cooker to ensure it was out of Stanley’s reach.

"Stanley’s practically back to normal now. But it's devastating, absolutely devastating to think how your life can change in a matter of hours..." - Deb Hague

But when her friend turned up, she saw smoke coming from the kitchen door and the property’s fire alarm sounding.

She immediately shut the door and dialed 999.

Fire crews using breathing apparatus entered the house and found Stanley in the corner of the kitchen, “distressed and shaking”.

The puppy was carried to safety, along with the hamster which has since died.

Dave, a 22-year-old parrot, also perished.

Ms Hague, a mum-of-four, said Stanley did not escape unscathed.

“I thought we were going to lose him,” she said.

“He was passing blood through his nose so we took him to the out-of-hours vets in Gillingham.”

Following treatment, Ms Hague said her puppy has a made a gradual recovery and is improving daily.

But her kitchen remains smoke damaged throughout and she compared the incident to a “very bad nightmare”.

“The fire brigade were absolutely brilliant,” she said.

“They were just so caring looking after Stanley and the hamster, and were very diplomatic in breaking the news about Dave.”

Referring to her puppy’s smokey escape, Ms Hague said: “Every dog has its day,” and added jokingly, “we’re thinking about changing Stanley’s name to Sooty.”