A lucky dog escaped certain death in an animal shelter with the help of a network of aviators, including an Easton pilot, who took the canine from South Carolina to the Taunton Municipal Airport on Friday.

Dasher, a mixed-breed tricolor hound, flew on a series of plane rides to Taunton after he was rescued from an animal shelter in Lancaster, S.C., that planned to euthanize him if he wasn’t adopted.

An East Taunton couple, Michele Handley and Kurt Gloekler, agreed to provide a foster home for Dasher after seeing the dog on a Facebook posting by a group called Friends of Shelter Animals.

Michele Handley, 41, left, and her boyfriend Kurt Gloekler, 45, both of East Taunton, are fostering 8-month-old hound mix Dasher from South Carolina. Above, they are waiting at Taunton Municipal Airport to meet him for the first time Friday.

“It looked like such a cute dog,” Handley said. “But the post said they will put him to sleep in a few days. I said we could probably do it and take him in as a foster dog.

“We don’t have any children,” she said. “It’s not like we couldn’t afford it. Let’s foster him and give it a try.”

Handley and Gloekler plan to house Dasher until finding someone who wants to adopt him permanently.

“We couldn’t let him be destroyed,” Gloekler said.

Michele Handley, left, and pilot Charles Melo talk after Malo flew Dasher to Taunton on Friday.

The Friends of the Shelter Animals got the dog out of the shelter once the Taunton couple agreed to find him a home; he was neutered and vaccinated a few weeks ago before the day of travel on Friday.

Handley smiled and took pictures as a single-engine, six-passenger plane descended at the East Taunton airport and a lively Dasher was allowed to walk around the runway on a leash, wagging his tail like it was a propeller.

Gloekler then took Dasher on his first walk in his new home.

Pilot Charles Malo, 65, of Easton, who donates his time to Pilots N Paws, flew 8-month-old hound mix Dasher to Taunton Municipal Airport on Friday.

Four aviators from the Pilots N Paws group, which works to save animals with the help of groups like Friends of Shelter Animals, brought Dasher on a leg of the journey. Easton pilot Charles Malo brought the dog from New York to Taunton.

“I love dogs,” said Malo, who piloted the final leg. “This is strictly nonprofit for me. We just do it for the love of the animals.

“Primarily they come from down South where there are more high-kill shelters,” he added. “If they are not adopted, they are euthanized.”

Pilot Charles Malo, 65, of Easton, who donates his time to Pilots N Paws, flew 8-month-old hound mix Dasher to Taunton on Friday.

Malo said he has been on about a dozen flights for Pilots N Paws, including one a couple of weeks ago when he helped bring a poodle from New Jersey to a woman in Vermont.

The Taunton couple already have a dog from Tennessee, and Handley said there should be takers for the new canine soon.

“I think he’ll get adopted quick,” said Handley, who plans to seek a home through postings at her work at Bridgewater State University.

The foster parents Michele Handley, 41, and her boyfriend Kurt Gloekler, 45, both of East Taunton, greet Dasher after he arrived in Taunton on Friday. Kneeling is pilot Charles Malo of Taunton.