Roanoke’s Salvage Dawgs Return on DIY Network

Mike Whiteside (in truck) and crew share one of many laughs during a recent taping of the show.
Mike Whiteside (in truck) and crew share one of many laughs during a recent taping of the show.

Who knew that rescuing artifacts from old buildings and structures slated to be torn down could be so much fun? That’s the premise behind Salvage Dawgs, which premiered its sixth 13-episode season on July 31.

More new episodes follow every Sunday night at 9 on DIY. Earlier seasons of the show – featuring the crew from Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke – can be viewed on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and the Great American Country Network.

Mike Whiteside and Robert Kulp, the owners of Black Dog Architectural Salvage on Memorial Avenue – now a tourist attraction with out-of-towners stopping by to check out the place they see on TV – lead their employees through salvage operations this season at churches, industrial buildings, period homes and a former bank.

Several of the jobs in Season 6 are close to home – like removing and repurposing old signage from the Texas Tavern, and taking down the old Noland Company sign at what is now Safeside Tactical.

Whiteside, who calls himself CEO and “the Big Dawg,” thought they might get one season out of Salvage Dawgs when they pitched the show. “We’ve got 85 episodes complete now, which is just phenomenal,” he says. His son Tay often joins him on the show working in high places, which continues this season. “I’m not real bright,” jokes Mike Whiteside; “we’re kind of the Flying Whitesides. You have to be comfortable up in high places.”

This year Salvage Dawgs also takes a trip to Virginia Commonwealth University where his daughter Grace is studying glassblowing. “She’s fun,” says Whiteside.  As for the show itself, “it is a lot of hard work but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what you do and goof on each other once in a while. If it’s all hard work and no fun it’s not worth doing it.”

Kulp acts as the straight man, notes Whiteside: “we bounce off him quite a bit.” The crew also travels to Pennsylvania and Tennessee during Season 6.

Viewers are also taken in by what the Black Dog crew turns salvaged pieces into. Customers can then buy those repurposed goods at the store – and keep it out of the landfill. “They want to think what they are buying from us is contributing to management of the waste stream,” says Whiteside.

Based on the ratings the DIY Channel is presently receiving, don’t be surprised if the local salvage entrepreneurs return for a 7th season and beyond.

Gene Marrano

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