Pet food settlement leaves mixed feelings

CLEVELAND, June 25 (UPI) -- A $24 million legal settlement isn't likely to leave Ohio pet owners and others nationwide totally compensated for their losses due to tainted food.

The contaminated pet food from China was identified in 2006 after an estimated 1,500 animals died and several times that number were sickened with severe kidney and urinary disorders. Those illnesses led to closure of the plant and a voluntary recall of about 1 percent of the nation's pet food from major retailers. Now a class-action lawsuit has resulted in the $24 million offer to compensate pet owners for out-of-pocket if not emotional losses, the The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Wednesday.

Carol Miller of Olmsted Township is happy with reimbursement for cremation costs for her Norwegian elkhound and other expenses, but knows she will never be fully compensated.

"They can't put a price on 15 years of having her ... of my kids taking her to show and tell" she said. "It's upsetting to me. She wasn't just a dog to us. She was part of our family."