Bechtel, who says she has a long history of taking in strays—including bobcats—took up the rabbit cause when she found Bernstein, "a tiny Dutch bunny" that had been attacked by cats "bent on having him for breakfast."

When she tried to find help for the rabbit, she hit a dead-end.

"There wasn't a lot of information back then about rabbits and few veterinarians knew how to care for them," she says.

Bechtel, the executive director of the nonprofit Asbestos Victims of America, also learned shelters were flooded with abandoned rabbits dumped on their doorsteps. So Bechtel, 62, started volunteering at a local shelter to learn more about rabbits. There she discovered the fate of most of the rabbits given up by their owners—death. The shelters had little choice but to euthanize the excess population.

Appalled, Bechtel set up her rescue organization to educate the public about the problem through press releases and postings in pet stores.

She taught people about the nutritional, medical and social needs of pet rabbits. She became a one-woman resource center, holding classes at people's homes, talking to pet owners over the phone and teaching classes at local community centers. And the education paid off.

People began to realize rabbits could be litter-trained and were quiet, clean, social animals that made good companions, she says.

Now those adoptions are having a "snowball effect," she says. People adopt one rabbit and then come back for a companion.

The organization is staffed by volunteers who foster rabbits at their homes and transport them to adoption shows at a PetsMart store in Santa Cruz.

Campbell resident and San Tomas Neighborhood Association treasurer Steve Schnur is among those volunteers.

He also does a lot of transporting, taking the rabbits to the show or moving donation items to garage sales for the organization. And he raises money for the organization through a donation drive at his CPA firm.

Though The Rabbit Haven asks adopting families for a $45 tax-deductible adoption donation, Bechtel says it does not cover expenses, which include, litter, food, cages, precision pens and veterinarian charges.

Veterinarians will provide discounts, but medical treatment is still expensive; for example, Hercules, a male with a crushed jaw, will need about $2,500 for surgery. Another special-need female rabbit, Sata, has a broken leg that will require amputation.

Yet Bechtel says no cost is too prohibitive when it comes to saving a rabbit.

"The only time we would resort to euthanasia is if the bunny was in a lot of pain and the quality of life was diminished," she says. "We have not had to face that."

But she has had to keep Sata and Hercules herself.

"Hercules has no teeth, so I use a food chopper for his veggies and he has learned to pick it up with his lips like a horse," she says.

She is also raising funds for Sata's surgery, which will cost about $475, and to pay Hercules' outstanding fees of $1,200 for previous surgical procedures.

Volunteer Joanne Sarro held a garage sale in August, which raised close to $1,000 toward Hercules' bills.

Sarro, who wishes she could have raised more money, is taking care of three rabbits, Pandora, Fey and Marsha. She says fostering eight rabbits since February has been educational and fun.

"They are really excited to see me when I come home," she said. "They all have such different personalities."

But fostering rabbits is not for everyone and Bechtel screens every volunteer.

"Heather came to my house and checked if it was suitable for placement," Sarro said.

Sarro was then provided with a starter foster pack that included a pen, litter box, water bowl and hay basket.

People adopting are also screened, trained and reminded rabbits require a long-term commitment because they can live up to 15 years.

The organization is also trying to educate people to keep the rabbit population in check. This year the organization has raised about $20,000 that will be used for spaying or neutering.

For more information or to check out available rabbits for fostering, visit The Rabbit Haven at www.therabbithaven.org or contact Heather Bechtel at 408.866.6977 or 408.866.6877 or email her at hrb_ava@pacbell.net.

Rabbit Haven bunny wish list:

—Volunteers to transport bunnies from shelters and to medical appointments.

—Goodie baskets (litter, toys, food, treats) for shelter bunnies during Christmas/Chanukah, Easter and Thanksgiving.

—Volunteers to collect toys for bunnies, to sew pads for their rooms at the shelters or in foster sites, to make stuffed bunny pals for shelter bunnies,

—People to hold garage sales, carry out raffles or other fundraising events.

—Volunteers to collect produce from farmers markets.

—Donations of Oxbow or American pet diner pellets, bales of hay or bags of hay, oat, timothy, alfalfa tool.

—Precision pens, x-pen corrals for foster sites, litter boxes, litter (paper based), brooms or gift certificates for Pet Food Express, or PetsMart, An-Jan, or Sams or Target.