House painted with spots in tribute to 'life-saving' dalmatian for sale

A dog lover who painted spots on his house in tribute to his "lifesaving" dalmatian has put the property up for sale. The black and white spotted walls of Eliska House have been catching the eyes of drivers travelling along the South Coast Road through Peacehaven, East Sussex, for a decade. Owner Ian Pierce, who bought the house around 15 years ago, painted it in 2005 as a lasting sign of gratitude to his dalmatian Eliska, and renamed the property after her.



He believes she saved his and his son's life in 2004. They were due to go on holiday to Thailand but had to cancel because there was no-one to look after their beloved pet, who was aged 13 at the time. Then the Tsunami hit the resort they would have been sunning themselves on - killing scores of holidaymakers. Mr Pierce said he became lonely when she was put down about eight years ago, aged 16, when her limbs began to fail, and his son grew up and moved away.



He said: "My first dalmatian was a wonderful woofer. I miss her every day. I always felt we had her to thank for our lives so I decided to paint the house It took me about a week, painting a few hours a day, to finish. I'm not sure if everyone was too impressed with it but most people seemed to like it. It took me much longer to re-paint it a couple of years ago. When she died I lost my mind for a while, I really missed her and did not want another dog."



He now lives there happily with his second dalmatian, also named Eliska, but after nearly 15 years calling the building his home, the 67-year-old is looking to downsize. Mr Pierce said: "A friend of mine told me about another three-year-old dalmatian and showed me a picture, she was up in Manchester and looked so much like my Eliska. I drove straight up there and she was on my lap that evening. I named her after Eliska. We have been inseparable ever since." The property is on the market at £200,000 for a leasehold on the first floor apartment or £500,000 freehold for the entire property, which includes a large-sized commercial ground floor space.