I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet Sandy, she sounds like a wonderful dog. I've recently gone thru a similiar loss and my home is so empty without my boy. I started looking for a new puppy very quickly, the project helped me focus on moving forward and has been good for me.
I am bringing my puppy home in 2 weeks. My first golden, Baxter, was more of a field background/Topbrass lines and I wanted my next golden to have a completely different look, so I was very drawn to the European line breeders. My research turned up 100% positive feedback on Tanglewood and Ivory Gold on the east coast and Talini on the west coast. When I contacted each of these breeders they were all highly complimentary of each other, which made me feel good that at least each appears to be conducting themselves for the betterment of the breed.
I am miserable without a dog in the house and was unable to wait until there was a Tanglewood puppy available (they live right here in my town) I got lucky and Nancy at Ivory Gold had a couple surprise (hadn't shown up on ultrasound) males born the day before I contacted her.
I have been able to contact a previous client and speak with her and have been very pleased with the process of dealing with Nancy. She has provided her 'puppy families' with a weekly video updating us on their growth and development. I will provide the link and you can take a look at this week's video.
Nancy uses the 'super puppy' program during her puppy's development and appears to be very knowledgeable about what the puppies need during each stage. Today she had a certified canine behavioralist come to give the temperament assessment she uses to help place the puppies with the family which will hopefully give the best fit for each dog and family. Tomorrow she will be calling to have our final discussion to help determine placement.
I am satisfied that she is raising her puppies 'as advertised' and I am very excited about flying down on January 4th to pick up my new baby.
Here is the link if you would like to see the latest video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtwg-yZfCmI&feature=channel