A family was 'traumatised' after coming back from a birthday meal at a local Brewers Fayre restaurant to find a fire had torn through their home.
Kelly Cull, from Little Sutton in Ellesmere Port, was celebrating her 32nd birthday on Monday, February 7.
The mum was enjoying a meal with her 15-year-old son Billy, her 18-month-old daughter Grace, her partner Martin Beeby and her parents.
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But when the family returned home to tend to their two chihuahuas, Poppy and Prince, they made a horrifying discovery.
Kelly told The ECHO: "I returned home with my son and my partner. My son noticed the windows were very black. We rushed inside and there was a smoke alarm going off but we couldn't hear it until we opened the front door.
"They both rushed inside to look for the dogs who had been in the living room."
Billy managed to find Prince - but Poppy was found later, unconscious and "frothing at the mouth."
The family called 999 and the fire service arrived at the scene, with the family dogs needing veterinary treatment.
Kelly said: "A fire investigator checked and said the tumble dryer's internal wire had caught fire."
The family home was severely damaged in the blaze, which engulfed the kitchen and living room and destroyed their freezer, curtains, blinds, food and kitchen items.
Luckily the family had closed a number of internal doors, which stopped the blaze from spreading throughout the house.
Kelly is now worried about the cost of the family's vets bills, which have so far reached £1,000, as she is unable to work due to her epilepsy diagnosis.
The mum said her family is still coming to terms with what happened.
She said: "My son has been struggling due to him finding the dogs because they looked dead. He is traumatised."
Both dogs are continuing to receive treatment as both have burns, ulcerations to their eyes and are suffering from smoke inhalation.
She said: "Poppy has been in an oxygen chamber to help her breathe, both are on antibiotics and eye drops. It's very stressful.
"All my daughter's clothes were stored downstairs in a living room cupboard and they got smoke damaged and all her toys and books were damaged."
The family received donations from strangers through Facebook to help them replace Grace's clothes and toys and Kelly has set up a GoFund Me page to contribute to vets bills.
She said: "We are so grateful for everyone's kind donations. Everything helps especially with the cost of vet bill. The donations of clothes for my daughter were very helpful as she didn't have any left."
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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