Phil,
So sorry to hear of your loss, those Goldens are precious as are the other breeds. We lost our first Golden, Samantha, to bone cancer 7 years ago, she was only 5. Life was hard after that, but soon got better when we rescued a 5 month old, who is also named Samantha from her first owners. Then after trying to get a pup a couple of years later, we rescued another Golden, Amber at 4 years old.
Both are so dear, Sam is a little hyper, is recovering nicely from ACL surgery and Amber is the mellow one. They, along with Jade the Cat are our only kids, so we treasure them so.
My heart goes out to you tonight. They're both together now, running through fields and thinking of their great owner/companion.
Patrick