Moderator Dana Čapkovičová (formerly Strculová) has been the face of the evening news on JOJ TV for many years. Looking at her, few would guess that she is a mother of two. In the spring of 2018, she changed her surname when she married her long-term partner – tennis player Kamil. A few months later, they became parents for the first time when she gave birth to a daughter, Sara.
Immediately after giving birth, Čapkovičová told her husband that she wanted one more child. The couple achieved this in March 2022, when they gave birth to their son Max. “We couldn’t be happier. Our baby is already here! Max, 3/3/2022. I want to thank the entire staff of the Antolská hospital for their selfless care of me, our son, but also other mothers and their children.” she wrote on the social network at the time.
Her children are growing like water, and with that comes the classic desire for a pet. Dana and Kamil nodded to their children at this request. However, this also brings with it a flip side. The animal becomes a fixed part of the child’s life, and it is even more difficult when it leaves. This also happened in the family of Dana Čapkovičová.
On the social network, she published a sad photo of a cardboard box, on which the name “Ufík” was written in children’s handwriting, and next to it the word love was written in a heart. “We will love you forever… Ufík of Furby,” wrote the presenter, who apparently grew fond of the animal. As she revealed, the hamster would have turned three years old in October. She then posted an adorable stock photo of her son holding his little friend and smiling. PHOTO can be found in the gallery.
For many decades, hamsters have been among the favorites among the first pets that parents get for their children. Children are mainly attracted by their cute appearance, small black eyes and unrelenting energy, which they show when running in a wheel or when humorously stuffing their cheeks with food supplies.
They represent an ideal compromise for the family, because they don’t take up a lot of space, their breeding is relatively inexpensive and for children they are a great tool for building the first real responsibility. With them, schoolchildren learn regularity in adding feed, cleaning litter and caring for a living creature that is 100% dependent on them.
With the purchase of this small rodent comes a flip side that parents often don’t think about in pet stores. The biggest negative of breeding hamsters is their very short life cycle, as they normally live only two to three years in domestic conditions.
While three years is a short episode for an adult, it represents a huge chunk of time in a young child’s life. During this period, the child creates a strong emotional bond with the animal and takes it as a full-fledged member of the family, so the news that their little companion is getting old is very difficult to accept.
The biggest trauma comes with knowing how unexpectedly a hamster’s life can end. These animals are prey in their natural wild nature, meaning any sign of weakness or disease would immediately condemn them to death. They have retained this strong instinct even in captivity, which is why they can mask health problems until the last possible moment and appear completely healthy on the outside.
It is then a huge shock for a small breeder when he sees his pet still full of life in the evening and in a cage in the morning he finds no signs of life, which for many children is the first and very painful encounter with death.
