Thinking About Adding A Furry Chaos Agent

You’d think after 14 years of military life, deployments, moves, last-minute schedule changes, and all the unknowns, I’d know better than to say, “Hey, you know what we need right now? A puppy.”

But here we are. As a military family, even thinking about adding a new furry family member comes with a checklist a mile long:

• Where will we be next year? (Spoiler: No clue.)
• Can we even have pets in housing? (Depends on the installation, the landlord, and whether your breed is on “the list.”)
• Will we drive, fly, or ship them if we move overseas? (Yes, you read that right—sometimes it’s an actual shipment.)
• Do we have the budget for vet care, training, and all the gear? (Because “free” dogs don’t exist, my friends.)

And beyond the logistics, there’s the family dynamic to consider.

My youngest? She’s had nothing but scary dog encounters so far: loose neighborhood dogs, overly friendly pups who zoom right up like they’ve had six espressos, and those gentle giants who look terrifying but are basically giant marshmallows with paws. For her, even “playful” can feel overwhelming.

The teenager? Oh, she’s ready. She’s been researching breeds, training methods, food options, you name it. I’m 90% sure she could write a dissertation on Labradoodles by now.

Me? I’m over here in my perimenopause era, husband deployed, managing homeschool, work, and general household chaos, thinking…do I really want another baby in the house? (And by baby, I mean a furry child who will chew my shoes, shed on my couch, and inevitably claim my spot in bed.)

But there’s this other side to it, the emotional support side. Life in the military is unpredictable, exhausting, and sometimes lonely. The idea of a soft, warm, wagging ball of fur greeting us at the door on the hard days sounds… well, perfect. Maybe not perfect timing, but perfect heart medicine.

So here we are, entering the “should we or shouldn’t we?” phase. One kid working on bravery. One kid ready to be a dog mom. And me, the actual mom, staring at adoption sites like I’m not about to upend our routine entirely.

How do you know which dog is right for a family that lives with constant uncertainty? How do you “plan ahead” when there’s no such thing as a plan ahead in military life?

I don’t have the answers yet. But I do know that if we take this leap, it won’t just be a dog joining us, it’ll be another member of the chaos crew. And honestly…that might be exactly what we need.