In my mind, purchasing a rat from a pet store, breeder or what-have-you is NOT "rescuing" the rat! A rescue, to me, is going to the shelter, going to a rat RESCUE and adopting one of them, that are there specifically for rescuing. A rescue in my mind is much more than a simple pet store rat, or breeder rat. A rescue is an act of caring, an act of trying to help the shelter or rescue by taking a homeless animal off of their hands.
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT. That is defiantly one of my pet peeves. The term 'RESCUE' has become totally meaningless due to over usage and improper usage by too many people. It seems that in many cases, the word 'RESCUE' has come to mean 'Look at this animal I just bought from a pet store, I'll keep it in a bigger cage because I'm a better person then that foolish pet store clerk, so everybody give me praise and tell me what a wonderful person I am'.

Sorry to go off topic, but the misuse of words like that just irks me.

Mark