see, that's how i use the term, usually something along the lines of "he's a double rescue dog - first i rescued him from being drowned by the farmer, then i rescued him from me!"
but the dog in question - she claimed "purebred malamute" because it was a white dog with black markings and two blue eyes and you KNOW "only" huskies (which are only grey) and malamutes have two blue eyes, right?
anyway, the dog was perfectly well behaved, just a little too full of joie de vivre - you could see the happy energy radiating off her. i doubt malamute - she's so small and with That Stare and the intensity, she was all border collie to me. but like i said, there was nothing wrong with the dog and the owner says "this is Laika - she's a rescue." and i said "oh, that's a nice name! she's absolutely gorgeous!" and the owner said "yes, she is - but she IS a rescue" and then *looks* at me.
so with her body language and non-verbal cues, my instinctive reaction was "what, you want applause or something?" because there was nothing at all wrong with the dog - she was not afraid of humans, she didn't react to a kid going by on a bike, she was open and friendly with dandy, she was just fine!