Certifications
To the New Jersey Attorney General's K-9 standards.
Russ is certified under the New Jersey Attorney General's K-9 Training Standards and Qualification Requirements for New Jersey Law Enforcement, the statewide standard every NJ police K-9 unit trains to. Each certification was earned by working under a Supervising K-9 Trainer who issued it to that standard.
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Supervising K-9 Trainer
The top trainer tier, for both Patrol and Specialty. Authorized to conduct basic and in-service K-9 training and qualifying exercises, supervise handlers who assist with training, and certify qualified prospective handlers as K-9 trainers.
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Patrol K-9 Trainer
Certified to the state standard for patrol work.
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Specialty K-9 Trainer
Certified to the state standard for specialty detection and scent disciplines.
The Supervising tier is not just a higher rank. It is the level authorized to certify other trainers. Russ used it.
Additional authority
Beyond his own agency.
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NJ Police K9 Association
Trainer to the association, training departments from across New Jersey in both specialty and patrol K-9 work.
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DEA license
Held the license for the oversight and control of training aids.
He trained the trainers
The credential that anchors everything.
Operating at the Supervising tier, Russ did not only handle dogs. He set the standard and certified others to it. He personally certified three Specialty K-9 Trainers to support the bloodhound training academies. That single fact turns "trained the trainers" from a claim into documented professional history, and it is the real foundation the certification side of Lead The Way stands on.
A registered standard
Lead The Way is a legal fact, not just a name.
Lead The Way Dog Training is a federally registered service mark, Registration No. 8,108,216, Class 41, owned by Sit Happens LLC, a single-member company owned solely by Russ Norcross. There is no daylight between the founder and the mark. When you see the name, you are seeing his standard.
Community
The relationships did not end with the badge.
Through Lead The Way, Russ keeps building relationships with the people he meets, and he backs it with real commitment. He is proud to support the Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation and to serve as an event sponsor of the Always Ready K9 3K, a setting that reflects his background and the community that shaped it.