A few years ago we rented a villa in the Caribbean.
The owner lived in a guest house on the property with his Rhodesian Ridgeback.
When we arrived the owner brought the dog to the villa and introduced him to all of us.
The good boy had free range of the property, which we were free to leave doors standing open while we explored the island.
Theft was a problem on that island, but not at that villa!
We all loved that dog, he reminded me of a lion.
They were very good and protective dogs, and would definitely give their life to save yours. For their mid-size, they were powerhouses and all muscle.
I was looking for some info where it says that they are a very rare type of breed because they are one of the very few that are sight/smell/hearing type of dog. Most dogs only have 1 of those traits (if I remember right). I found part of this info at Wiki: Sighthound and Scenthound (didn't mention hearing).
I found a couple of nice pics, and screencapped a brief description to go with them:
