As Civil War Looms, Banfield, The Pet Hospital, Stands Ready to Assist Injured Ducks and Beavers.

City Desks/Sports Editors

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2000

As tensions continue to run high leading up to the annual "Civil War" football game on Saturday, Portland-based Banfield, The Pet Hospital, the nation's largest private veterinary practice, stands ready to lend its expertise to treating an anticipated rash of injured ducks and beavers.

At press time, field reports indicated only a few minor incidents, but practice officials were bracing for more as game-time approached.

"We've been leaders in providing state-of-the-art healthcare to Pets for many years," said company founder and CEO Scott Campbell, DVM, a 1985 graduate of Oregon State's College of Veterinary Medicine. "We've had an emergency 'Civil War' contingency plan in place for years in the event that the game would actually mean something, and we've now put that plan into action."

According to Campbell, all hospitals in the state of Oregon have been equipped with extra supplies of duck and beaver plasma, as well as hard-to-get beaver tail and duck bill repair kits. The practice has also scheduled grief counselors to be on hand at its practice headquarters for employees who are either distraught from the outcome of the game or who have witnessed a duck or beaver being injured.

"Mostly, we're urging the citizens of the state of Oregon to remain calm, to remember that this is just a game, and to refrain from taking their passions out on unsuspecting and innocent members of the Castor canadensis or Anatini family of species."

Pet owners can locate the nearest Banfield location by calling 800/768-8858 or by visiting www.banfield.net. Banfield, The Pet Hospital, is a national practice led by veterinarians, consisting of 250 state-of-the-art hospitals in 27 states. The practice was founded in 1955 in Portland, Ore.