I have a 6 year old Basenji and 2 ferrets that are all the best of friends. My Basenji is also in love with my cat, when she comes in my Basenji (Pearl) thinks she has to run over to her and try to get her to play with her. The cat hates her most of the time. Pearl is pretty clever at getting attention as well. Sometimes when she isn't getting enough attention she will run to the cat and aggrivate it just enough to get swat at, then come to one of us crying. If we don't pay attention to her still, she will do it again. I have a few audio clips of her, but no video 
Maybe some day. I should get a picture of Pearl and the ferrets together. I was told absolutely not to trust her around little critters but she loves them to death. She even goes for walks with them, and will growl at anyone that comes near them. 
Where I am it costs about $2K+ for a dog from a breeder for just about any breed. Goldens may be less because the litters are so large. That may seem like a lot, but, as Debra mentions, dogs cost money to care for. After vet bills and boarding fees and food, it matters little what the dog cost to acquire.
Leaving true puppy mills out of the discussion, given the costs of being a responsible breeder -- testing, vet bills, feeding -- and how much work breeding is, I can't imagine anyone doing it for the money.
That leads to two problems for people looking for dogs. One is that since breeding isn't really lucrative, there aren't a ton of breeders, which means the supply of pups is low. Second is that most Basenji breeders want to place their pups in the best possible homes -- remember they aren't doing it for the money -- which means they're looking for people who have had Basenjis before. Something of a Catch-22.
