This is the dramatic moment a housewife napping on a sofa was startled by a monitor lizard dashing into her home.

The woman was resting in the living room when a dog chased the reptile around a yard in Sakhon, Thailand.

CCTV footage shows the frantic lizard sprinting into the house, prompting the homeowner to leap up in alarm on January 17.

In her panic, she tripped over the goanna and fell to the floor.

Meanwhile, the brave white dog dashed inside, briefly scanning the room before running back out towards its owner, who was calling it from the doorway.

The woman then stood up and limped out of the room. An animal rescue team was called to retrieve the monitor lizard.

In another clip, a group of men can be seen entering the house and successfully capturing and removing the reptile, which was unharmed following its adevnture.

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country, so their population thrives.