The last time I saw my dog... and now I don't know if he's alive or not

A while ago I had to take my Golden (my golden retriever) to a boarding place because I was moving from one apartment to another. Unfortunately after I left him my financial situation got really bad. Days turned into weeks, and then weeks into months — I kept phoning the boarding kennel asking to extend the stay until it went on and on. My dog grew up away from me and my money problems only got worse, until the bill they were charging me became more than I could afford. I had to make a decision: I asked them to rehome him (put him up for adoption) because I couldn't take him back and I couldn't keep paying the mounting fees. Years have passed and my conscience still tortures me. I keep thinking — does he still remember me? Does he know I abandoned him? And the hardest question that keeps coming into my head is — is he still alive?