Lost Rottweiler NYC! HELP/advice?

Hi!
My friend's black female 3-year old black Rottweiler either roamed away
(unlikely) or was abducted from a shop on East Houston Street (Mott/Bowery)
in downtown NYC yesterday, Friday Dec 10, at around 6pm. She's super-gentle
and would probably follow anybody with food.

There was a person in there inquiring about the dog in detail; the person
watching the dog then turned to help a customer and later noticed that the
dog was gone.

Naturally we've alerted the police, posted flyers, talked to everybody in
the neighborhood. $500 reward. Checking regularly with various shelters and
the NYC Animal Control Board. But does anybody have any suggestions beyond
that?

Are there any insidious Rottweiler "cults", for instance? We're worried the
likely culprit wanted it as a status symbol or worse.... he was a kind of
iffy looking character.

Finally, I couldn't find out whether there's a number or city department in
charge of dead animals.... if the dog were run over and removed, would there
be a way of finding out? A database anywhere? I don't want my friend to make
that call himself.

Any help would be much appreciated, and thanks!