RICHMOND, Calif. — Back in 1988, when the seven founders of the House Rabbit Society first came together at a dining table in Alameda, Calif., just south of here, the idea of keeping a rabbit as an indoor pet was considered fairly smirk-worthy.

Yet the group was able to incorporate as a nonprofit, dedicating itself to promoting responsible rabbit ownership, matching abandoned rabbits with bunny-loving foster caretakers and ultimately setting up perhaps the first rabbits-only adoption center at its headquarters here. Now with chapters in dozens of states, the society boasts of having hosted the first veterinary conference focused exclusively on rabbit health and having saved tens of thousands of rabbits from euthanasia. Its slogan: “Buy a Bunny a Little Time.”

But Easter, of course, is a trying time for the group, given the tradition of presenting baby rabbits to children as holiday gifts. Delight soon turns to woe as the family discovers what the organization has been saying for decades: Rabbits require as much care and maintenance as dogs, and — as heart-meltingly cute and cuddly as they can be — they must be litter-box trained and spayed or neutered to be effective house pets.

“If rabbits are given as a gift for Easter without a lot of education, they’re going to end up giving it away a few months later — it’s a no-brainer,” said Margo DeMello, president of the House Rabbit Society.