I have 3 dogs and a cat. My household would definately be considered animal lovers. Here's how I see that the whole thing went down.
Puppies are usually adopted at about 8 weeks. The puppy in question was "abandoned" at 4 months. That means the Bennett's probably had the puppy somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 months. When the puppy was adopted they may not have known that they would be moving across country. When his signing with the Seahawks went down and a subsequent move 2500 miles ensued, perhaps a simple decision to give the puppy up to a kennel seemed like the best decision. For the first roughly 6 months of a puppies life, they should not be taken outside your own yard until all Parvo shots have been given. A puppy can pick up Parvo from just walking on the ground that another dog with Parvo has been on months earlier. Parvo is a horrible fatal disease in dogs.
Moving across country with a 4 month old puppy that needs lots if extra care and attention is not an easy feat. It's like a newborn baby that doesn't wear diapers. I wonder if the decision was made to give up the dog and someone just screwed up the communication. Bennett, his wife, the kennel or anyone else could have just neglected to check the right box or inform the right parties.
It all seems pretty innocent to me until the lawyers get involved. $15,000? Seriously???