Was your dog one of the many around the country that ate the tainted pet food last year? You've got until November 24 to file a claim. According to USAToday, only 6,000 pet owners have filed so far, though many times that had dogs that potentially ate the food and got sick. We still don't know how many animals died from the poisoning.

Today (September 12th) is the last day you can file an objection to the $24 million settlement, an amount that upset many dog parents as being far too small.

As you'll recall dogs started getting sick from Menu Food products in February, 2007 and eventually the crisis engulfed 90 pet food brands. After weeks scientists figured out that Chinese manufacturers were substituting the plastic ingredient melamine to boost protein readings.

The settlement money is for "documented, reasonable economic damages" the settlement document says -- for anyone who bought the food. In other words, they're treating pets like just things and not acknowledging how much they hurt both animals and people. The settlement specifically includes "veterinary treatment costs, death-related expenses, deceased pet purchase price or fair market value, whichever is higher, or new pet cost, property damages and other economic costs." They'll give $900 for a claim without documentation.

Late last week, a $24 million settlement was reached in the case of companies selling contaminated pet food which caused illness and death for hundreds (thousands?) of pets. The defendants were Menu Foods Income Fund and a bunch of other pet food suppliers and manufacturers.

The court still has to approve the settlement, but if it does, it will bring to a close over 100 lawsuits related to the tainted pet food. The food was recalled in March 2007, when it was determined that wheat gluten and rice protein from China had tainted over 150 brands of dog food and cat food.

Some pet owners have already received money via earlier settlements totaling $8 million. This new settlement will be divided between pet owners who have documented expenses related to the injuries and/or deaths of their pets. Pet owners who don't have documented expenses might be able to get up to $900. Everyone's payout will ultimately depend on how many claims are filed, how much is claimed, and how much it costs for the attorneys to administer the damages.

So how much is your pet's life worth? I don't think it's easy to put a number on it. No one wants to see a loved one (even an animal) in pain, and the effects of the tainted pet food were horrible. I hope that at least this settlement can help owners recover their costs, as well as teach the companies involved an important lesson about quality control and safety of products.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

For the last ten years or so, credit card companies have been charging transaction fees on foreign currency purchases, but most cardholders never knew. The fees were hidden in your conversion rate, and you were probably none the wiser.

Were you like me? I traveled abroad and used my credit card for everything. I was told this was the way to get the best currency conversion rate. Except when I got home and looked at my bill, the conversion rate didn't look so hot. And this is the reason why.... the credit cards were charging me fees but hiding them in the conversion rate.

A class action suit was brought, and now we all have a chance to get some of this money back via the $336 million settlement. If you traveled abroad between 1996 and 2006 and used a Visa or Mastercard, you can get at least $25 back. You might get more if you have the right documentation.