Andy - I also have a golden retriever.... could you be any more American than that????
My wife has literally ALWAYS wanted one of these. Our head of animal control at work has a friend that had 2 female puppies left from purebred parents. They were $600 each or free for law enforcement. Hard to pass up that kinda deal when I get it for free.
The female we picked is the bigger of the two. Her paws are huge. She's got a more mild demeanor than the other also, so hopefully she won't tear up too much in the house.
Should make a great family dog and companion for the retriever.