I knew this would pop up, but in fact Disney is NOT to blame. It was the BREEDER, who lied about the puppies.

I know some people who had Goldens in this movie, and this is what we were told:

I just got the explanation of what happened to the pups from the lady
who owns the Saint in the movie. The supplier for the pups did not have
enough pups the right age so shipped 4 and 5 week old pups with no shots
to the movie set. He lied on his shipping paperwork. The babies got ill
quickly and some did die but the movie crew got good vet care for all of
them and many survived. The movie was delayed while the ASPCA
investigated the deaths. The movie folks were smacked for accepting the
underage pups but the movie was released as they were cleared of any
invovement in the pups being ill. All the pups have since had health
clearances and are in good homes.