Basenji

The dog seen above is know as a basenji, and their breed goes back further than you may think. These dogs are among some of the oldest known, as traces of them have been found as far back as 4000 BCE. It is believed that these dogs were used as hunting companions in Central Africa, close to the Congo. Some speculate that the basenji might have even been gifted to the pharaohs, and a couple were found engraved into their murals and armor and a couple were mummified.

In addition to their adorableness, they are outstanding hunters. They are part of the small group of dogs that use not only smell, but sight to hunt and that gives them an incredibly useful ability to rodents in villages, and egg caches. Where they shine though is their innate ability to flush animals out of their nest, they are commonly used to get some extremely dangerous animals out safely like lions. When they are sent out by the hunter, they are able to sneak their way into the loins den and coax them out. It doesn't always turn out perfectly, but if they are in danger they use the special double gallop (all four legs off the ground) that gives them unbelievable speeds that can reach around 45 mph, 72.4 kph.

If you don't intend on using them for hunting, they are still very good house hold pets (as long as you have a large backyard). They are known for keeping themselves very clean and their barks are quite quiet.