N.J. homeowner says dog helped her escape house fire: "He's my hero, my angel."

A dog is being credited with helping his owner escape her burning home in West Milford, New Jersey, early Friday morning.

Aida Kelly said she wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her poodle, Squilliam.

"The house [was] already in flames"

Over the phone, Kelly told CBS News New York's Christine Sloan her 3-and-a-half-year-old dog started barking just before 1 a.m., waking her up. She kept telling him to be quiet, but he wouldn't stop.

"He comes to my bed, goes back and forth, comes on my bed, and I said, oh my God, what, what?" she said. "Then, I hear the smoke detectors going off immediately – beep, beep, beep."

Kelly said that's when she grabbed her dog and started to make her way out of the house, which was filling with smoke.

"I was like, oh my God, it's a fire," she said. "I run, and it was in the living room, the house already in flames."

"The best of the best"

Officials said the Elm Street home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

"First arriving units got on scene and found the structure was heavily involved in the rear, fire rapidly extending throughout the house," West Milford Fire Marshal Michael Moscatello said.

The house was destroyed and Kelly lost everything, but she said she's grateful to her dog, who saved her life.

"The best of the best. He's my hero, my angel," she said. "He's the best."

While investigators have not determined an exact cause to fire, Kelly said she believes it was caused by an extension cord plugged into a refrigerator outside.