Latest news with #schoolreturn
CBS News
a day ago
- Health
- CBS News
Pets can experience depression as kids head back to school, experts say
By the end of this week, more than 70 school districts across the Pittsburgh area will be back in class. With every school bus that rolls down the street, pets are left behind after a summer of stimulation, often causing pet depression. Not all pets will experience the void. Dogs are more susceptible than cats, but there are things you can do. The school bus takes kids to the next adventure, while left behind at home is a pet that's grown accustomed to their constant stimulation. "They do sense the change in energy. You know, all the kids are leaving the house. They're used to the attention, the constant attention," said Dr. Mike Hutchinson, a Pittsburgh-area veterinarian and expert on animal health and behavior. Suddenly, it's quiet. "You'll see yawning. You'll see body shaking. You may see them change their own habits," dog trainer Chrissy Joy said. "They'll start whining more. They'll get clingy," Dr. Mike said. "(Pets will) just stop eating, and they'll just get mopey, and so we have to pay attention to it." Both Dr. Mike and Joy say not to ignore the change in mood. "Because what's going to happen is the dog's energy is going to manifest somewhere else, and that could be your couch, that could be your TV remote, or your favorite pair of shoes," Joy said. There is a remedy, however. "Time is the best gift you can give to your pet," Dr. Mike said. Introduce them to a new normal. "Go walk with them in the morning, before you go, if you have time," Dr. Mike said. "So that they're more relaxed and they kind of get that energy out for the day," Joy added. "If not, as soon as you get back, spend 15-20 minutes with them. Give them that attention," Dr. Mike said. In between that time, give them a treat that will occupy them for a while when you leave. "A good one of those kong toys that you can fill up, you know, put peanut butter on one end, put it in a cup, add some low salt chicken noodle soup, and freeze it," Dr. Mike suggested. Joy suggests trying dog puzzle toys that contain treats and turning on dog TV while you're gone. "With music, it's scientifically proven to relax your dog and to provide sort of a stimulation that's not going to make them nervous, but maybe make them like feel that they're not alone, comfortable," Joy said. Dr. Mike says if they don't bounce back after a couple of weeks, see your vet. There could be something else going on. Yes. Those breeds that are more energetic and used to herding kids. Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, and German Shepherds will miss the kids the most. Attention is the key.
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Mancunian Way: What Andy Burnham needs to do
Over the summer holidays, most parents face a six-week-long battle of how to entertain their children, with long days and short attention spans making unhappy bedfellows. Already, some mums and dads' minds will be on September's return to school, and not for the promise of an empty home. Questions like 'do I need to get new school shoes?', 'will they settle into a new school?', and 'have they picked the right options?' will swirl around busy heads. READ MORE: Investigation launched after biker dies following crash on Greater Manchester road READ MORE: 'If they told us how much we owed, we'd pay it back': Councillors 'overpaid' for years speak out Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here But some parents face an even more difficult choice. There are 5,414 homeless households in Greater Manchester who have been placed in temporary accommodation. Usually, they lose their home through no fault of their own, and that temporary accommodation is miles away. The knock-on effect for their children is immediate. Parents who watched their sons and daughters walk a few minutes to the school gates now need to work out how to co-ordinate a longer journey to class. The law says they can get free home-to-school travel, if they are moved more than two miles from their primary school or three miles from secondary, AND there's no suitable school closer to home. It's almost impossible to be more than three miles from a school in Greater Manchester. So parents have to decide if they want to try and move their child closer to their temporary home, or fork out for buses every week when they're at their lowest. The Manchester Evening News believes this is a dilemma no parent in temporary accommodation should have to face. It's why we're calling on Andy Burnham to implement a new bus pass that would give children in temporary accommodation free bus travel if they're moved more than a 30-minute walk from school. You can support us here. It only takes a minute. It would be a massive help for homeless parents, according to one mum who spent five months in temporary accommodation last year. When her home in Harpurhey flooded last May, she found temporary accommodation through Manchester council — but it was in Salford Crescent. That meant her 13-year-old daughter went from walking five minutes to school to needing two buses, which took an hour. Mum, who asked to stay anonymous, couldn't afford the £10 weekly bus ticket. Her daughter only stayed in school because Manchester Communication Academy staff paid for her buses. 'My bills are extortionate,' mum explained. 'I need to pay those and keep food in for the kids. The last thing on my mind is the bus fare. I used to live just across the road from school, so it was a five-minute walk for my daughter. 'Once we had the flood we got moved to Salford, I would not have the money to even meet my mum at the shopping centre. [My daughter] would have to take two buses from Salford and that would be 45 minutes with traffic to go in and out of town. She was only 13, so that was scary sending her to school on her own in an area we did not know.' I think that explains one reason why we're asking the mayor to make this change. Another reason is making reforms like this will deliver on the promise of the Bee Network. The concept of the Bee Network was first announced in 2021, sold to the public and politicians on the basis Greater Manchester would see better bus services with easier-to-understand tickets, all of which were now in public control. More changes could be made if residents wished, the mayor added, because now they could tell democratically-elected politicians what needed to be done, rather than campaign in vain to faceless multi-nationals' boardrooms. Bee Network buses have run across Greater Manchester for six months now. Since January 5, tickets have been revised to include 'tap-and-go' fares across buses and trams for the first time. Some routes have changed and been re-introduced, and preliminary data suggests punctuality and patronage have improved compared to privately-run buses. Work to shape the Bee Network into Greater Manchester's vision is continuing: Transport chiefs are in the middle of a concessionary fare review, relaxing rules which stopped disabled and old people using their bus passes before 9:30am on weekdays this month. To his credit, when the M.E.N. launched our campaign on Sunday, he immediately said he would examine our call. 'We are doing a lot to make travel easier and more affordable for everyone in Greater Manchester, including children and young adults. That includes £1 single bus fares, free travel for 16-18-year-olds, an extension of free travel for care leavers and, from next month, half price bus travel for 18-21-year-olds,' a mayoral spokesperson said. 'Transport for Greater Manchester is currently undertaking a broader review of concessions, considering all the requests for support that we get from a range of groups across the city-region, and the Mayor has asked them to ensure this is included.' But having changed tickets and introduced new vehicles and services, to truly realise the potential of the Bee Network, it's taking steps like this which matter. An efficient bus service is one thing, but having a publicly-controlled network which responds to the public is another.
