Man accused of stealing “Bunny” the pit bull from animal shelter tells “his side” of story

The valley man accused of stealing “Bunny” the Pit Bull from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter now wants to tell what he calls “his side of the story”.

Richard Whitehead offers a version of events quite different from the one offered by shelter officials.

It’s a story that lit up social media.

Whitehead was accused of stealing “Bunny” the Pit Bull from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.

A surveillance photo provided by the shelter shows Richard Whitehead carrying the dog while walking out of the front door at the shelter.

“I feel I was wrongly accused. I feel I was kind of like slandered,” said Richard Whitehead while talking the way he was treated after taking the dog home.

The shelter says Richard Whitehead “stole” Bunny by hiding the 35 pound puppy under his shirt on his way out of the building.

But Whitehead tells a different story.

“They had it wrong, and they should have investigated things further than they did,” said Whitehead.

Whitehead says he carried the dog in plain sight past the front desk and out of the building, which we’re told was quite busy that day.

He also claims he took the dog after paying money to someone he thought worked for the shelter.

Whitehead re-enacted some of the conversation he had with the man inside the shelter.

“Its going to cost you 80 bucks. I said is that the best you can do? He said well, you know we can work this out, what is called the DL, the down low. Give me 40 dollars, and you can walk out with the dog with no paperwork,” said Whitehead as he described the conversation with the man.

So, who got the 40 dollars?

Whitehead believes it was the other man who also appears in the surveillance photo released by the shelter.

In the photo, the man is pictured walking out of the front door, a couple of steps behind Whitehead.

Whitehead thinks it’s a shirt draped over the man’s shoulder, and he thinks the man wore that shirt while inside the shelter.

“Looked like the same guy who sold me the dog. Black Shorts. Mexican looking man. 30 to 35. You know, clean cut and Hispanic. I saw the picture on the news and thought that is the guy who sold me the dog,” said Whitehead.

We wanted to get both sides of the story, but no one at the shelter would comment on camera.

But shelter board member Ginny Foat called Whitehead’s version of events “outrageous”.

She also said the shelter will now improve security.

Whitehead spent six days in jail on charges of possessing stolen property.

But the district attorney says there is no active case against him.

Finally, Whitehead denies claims he wanted the Pit Bull for fighting.

“I loved the dog, it touched my heart. You didn’t want it to fight. There is no reason to fight a dog. That is cruel and unusual punishment,” said Whitehead.

The “Shag” art gallery in Palm Springs paid $1,000 in reward money to two tipsters who provided information which led to Bunny being taken back to the shelter.

We were told been told the Pit Bull, after being brought back to the shelter, was adopted out to a “loving family” which includes three children.