Masonic Lodge donates $3K for Princeton police bloodhound

PRINCETON – The Princeton Police Department is $3,000 closer to purchasing a bloodhound thanks to a donation from the Princeton Masonic Lodge.

Wayne Barr, who presented the donation along with fellow Masons, said it was made possible with the partnership of the Grand Lodge, which matched funds with the Princeton Chapter.

Princeton Police Chief Tom Kammerer said the department has been on the hunt for a bloodhound for four to five months and hopes to find one soon.

Bloodhounds, he said, are not as easily available as the German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois commonly used for drug detection, so the department is working with a fellow sergeant and canine trainer to locate a dog for the department.

According to Kammerer, bloodhounds, unlike other police canines, do not patrol daily with their officer. Instead, they are crated and transported to scenes where police are conducting search and rescue for missing individuals.

“When they aren’t training or working, they’re sleeping,” Kammerer said.

“Bloodhounds don’t search cars,” Kammerer said. “They track people by the scent of their property.”

The nearest department with a bloodhound is in Kendall County, which means at least an hour lead time to get it on scene if needed, so having one locally will be a boon to all area departments, Kammerer said.

“We will have the ability to allow use of the dog by other departments, at no charge,” he added, as a cooperative partnership among local agencies.

The cost of the dog will be between $4,000 and $8,000.

“We’re very grateful to the Masonic Lodge for helping us out,“ Kammerer said.