Settlement in contaminated pet food trauma

The Associated Press is reporting there is an initial approval of a settlement that would compensate pet owners for costs related to deaths or illnesses of their dogs and cats.

The complete story is here.

According to the AP, pet owners in the U.S. and Canada are going to be notified of the settlement by June 16 and have until early December to submit claims. A final hearing on the $24 million settlement is scheduled for Oct. 14.

It's not all good news, though. The settlement doesn't pay pet owners for pain and suffering from injuries to their pets.

Last year, some of the products made by Menu Foods Income Fund were found to contain wheat gluten imported from China that was contaminated with melamine, a plastics chemical.

A lawyer for plaintiffs said more than 1,500 animals in the U.S. died after eating the food last year.

Check our the previous blog entries, here, here and here.

From the article:

The settlement allows pet owners to apply for expenses associated with deaths and illnesses, including the costs of veterinarians, time missed from work to care for sick animals, replacement pets, burial expenses and even property damaged because animals got sick.

Pet owners can request up to $900 for undocumented claims in case they didn't save all their receipts.

Owners can also be reimbursed if they had their dogs screened for contaminated food — even if they turned out to be healthy.