He was known as the Coos County Animal Shelter’s “Wal-Mart greeter.”

Abe, the happy Labrador always had a wave — well, wag — for everyone who stopped by the shelter south of Coos Bay.

“He never disliked anybody,” said Shelter Manager Wendy Martinez. “He never met a stranger. Everyone was a friend.”

Don’t worry. Abe’s OK. The shelter’s resident dog, who came in as a stray almost a year and a half ago, has been reunited with his long-lost owner.

Last week, a woman stopped at the shelter to drop off a stray puppy. She was surprised to notice a photo of Abe — Magnum as his owner knows him — hanging on the wall. She went home, returning with papers to confirm Abe was her dog. They left together that afternoon.

Martinez said workers and volunteers, who thought of the big friendly dog as the shelter’s mascot, have mixed feelings about losing him.

“We’re happy that he is home,” Martinez said. “But we are very sad because we miss him.”

Despite several attempts, The World was unable to contact Abe’s owner.

When Abe arrived at the shelter, volunteers guessed the big black Lab with a graying muzzle was about 12 years old. They weren’t too far off. They learned he’s probably somewhere between 13 and 15 years old.

Martinez said when he was brought in, he couldn’t go in the holding pens like the rest of the dogs. Arthritis would have made it difficult for him to walk underneath the doors separating the inside and outside portion of the pens. So, the old guy had the run of the place and the time to win the hearts of workers and visitors alike.

He had his own warm, fluffy bed and plenty of people gave him attention and medication for his arthritis. Martinez even started taking him home as the nights got colder.

His only discomfort was when workers cleaned the puppy cages. They let the pups run around the shelter.

“They always wanted to go play with the big black pillow,” Martinez said.

Abe had different thoughts.

“He would growl and bark at them as if to say, ‘Leave me alone you little whippersnappers.’” Martinez said.

He may have had no patience for rambunctious puppies, but he did take a special liking to one shelter volunteer. He memorized her schedule, Martinez said. She came by twice a week, and those two days were the only days he would go sit out front, waiting.

“Finally it dawned on me what he was doing,” Martinez said.

Abe knew her car and would run, or his version of running, out to say hi. Then he would follow her on her dog walks, taking a break halfway through.

When Abe was originally lost, his owner had called to report him missing. He had been microchipped, but the owner contact information was never registered to the chip. Martinez said the registration task slipped through the cracks between the owner and Abe’s veterinarian.

Knowing that, Martinez offered advice. She encourages dog owners to get confirmation that registration is done once they have their pets microchipped or be sure to do it themselves to prevent a similar situation.