- For other uses, see Porthos.
- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Porthos (mirror).
Porthos was a male beagle, the pet dog of Jonathan Archer. Archer took Porthos with him when he took command of the United Earth Starfleet starship Enterprise (NX-01) in 2151. Porthos remained with Archer throughout Archer's entire tenure as Captain of the Enterprise, often going where no dog had gone before. (Star Trek: Enterprise)
History[]
He was one of four male puppies in his litter. He and his brothers Athos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan were named after the four central characters of the Alexandre Dumas novel "The Three Musketeers". Rebecca's mother had raised the pups and gave Archer Porthos. (ENT episode: "A Night in Sickbay", ENT novelization: The Expanse)
Porthos was extremely fond of cheese and Archer often obliged him. However, ingesting cheese occasionally caused him gastrointestinal distress. (ENT episodes: "Fight or Flight", "Dear Doctor")
In 2151, he became the first inhabitant of Earth to set foot on a planet later named after his master: Archer IV. He immediately ran into the forest and proceeded to urinate. Commander Charles Tucker III quipped that he was really was going "where no dog has gone before". (ENT episode: "Strange New World")
Later that year, Doctor Phlox provided Subcommander T'Pol with a numbing agent to protect her from the worst of Porthos' smell. However, she still found his smell offensive, particularly after Captain Archer had fed him cheese as it caused him to flatulate. (ENT episode: "The Andorian Incident", ENT - The Romulan War novel: To Brave the Storm)
While the crew of Enterprise were incapacitated by the Ferengi marauders Ulis, Krem, Muk, and Grish, Porthos remained conscious, presumably due to his non-humanoid physiology. Grish attempted to use his universal translator to communicate with Porthos but Muk soon chastised him for not realizing that he was a "lower lifeform." Muk commented that he would likely fetch several bars of latinum at the Malurzian Zoo and placed him in a cargo container. After regaining control of Enterprise, Archer retrieved his pet, who appeared very happy to be reunited with his master. (ENT episode: "Acquisition")
Porthos was briefly sent back in time to the year 2120 by Timot Danlen in order to thwart the Suliban Cabal's attempt to kill Archer as a child. Initially mistaken by the younger Archer for his parents' dog, Maska, Porthos rescued Archer from the Nacaijin Gorge where he had been left to drown by a Suliban agent. In turn, Porthos was saved from falling through the ice by the younger Archer before being promptly returned to his own time when his task was achieved. The elder Archer was informed by Danlen that an Enterprise crew member had "volunteered" to travel back in time to save him, but only realized their identity when he next saw Porthos and remembered the incident. (ENT - Waypoint comic: "The Fragile Beauty of Loyalty")
In 2152, Porthos was infected with a deadly pathogen while accompanying Archer, T'Pol and Ensign Hoshi Sato on an away mission to the Kreetassan homeworld. Phlox was forced to operate, replacing his pituitary gland with that of a Calrissian chameleon which he had in storage. He made a full recovery. Archer was later forced to carry out an elaborate ceremony of apology as, during the mission, Porthos had also urinated on a sacred tree. (ENT episode: "A Night in Sickbay")
Porthos was aboard Enterprise for a full decade, remaining at his master's side throughout the Xindi Crisis, the Earth-Romulan War and until the ship was decommissioned in 2161. (ENT episodes: "The Xindi", "Zero Hour", ENT - The Romulan War novels: Beneath the Raptor's Wing, To Brave the Storm, ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages...")
When Archer was promoted to admiral later that year, Porthos accompanied him to Starfleet Headquarters. He and Archer often visited Enterprise, which had become a museum piece in the Smithsonian Institution's orbital annex. By May 2163, Archer had begun to notice that Porthos had slowed down considerably due to his advanced age for a beagle. (ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: A Choice of Futures)
In early 2166, Porthos was in poor health. By then, he did not have the energy to get up and greet Archer when he returned to the home Archer shared with Danica Erickson. By March of that year, it was becoming obvious that Porthos was dying. On March 18, the vet finally told Dani that it was time for Porthos to move on. Dani relayed that to Archer, who was preparing for a Federation Council debate with Thy'lek Shran over the proposed non-interference directive. Learning that Porthos was dying, Shran told Archer to forget the debate and to go be with Porthos. Porthos passed away a short time later with Archer by his side. (ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Patterns of Interference)
Alternate timelines[]
In an alternate timeline beset by the temporal anomaly crisis, Porthos and Archer were pulled from Risa in 2152 into the 24th century. Among the equipment they brought to bear in away team missions were a communicator, phase pistol, submicron scanner, and cheese slices. (ST video game: Timelines)
Appendices[]
Images[]
Appearances[]
In the film Star Trek Montgomery Scott refers to having lost "Admiral Archer's beagle" in a transporter accident - a reference to Jonathan Archer and Porthos, though it is not clear if either are the original characters (still alive a century after their appearances in Enterprise) or their descendants. When the film's writer, Roberto Orci, was asked "is the beagle mentioned Porthos? Has veterinary science advanced so much? (Please say yes!)" he responded with an enthusiastic (and likely jovial) "YES!". [1]
External link[]
- Porthos article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.