SANTA FE, New Mexico (PRNewswire) — Most people say they wish they had more time to take better care of themselves and to feel less stress. At least that’s what acupuncturist and wellness practitioner Carlyn Montes De Oca discovered when she asked her patients to name their biggest challenges.

With that information in mind, Montes De Oca created a gratitude journal for dog lovers to bring the qualities dogs embody most—playfulness, loyalty, grace, gratitude, courage, enthusiasm and unconditional love—to the forefront of their human’s lives.

The result is “Paws for the Good Stuff: A Dog Lover’s Journal for Creating a Happier & More Pawsitive Life!”

The journal, a follow-up to her #1 Amazon bestseller and award-winning book “Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse,” is meant to be kept on the nightstand so readers can answer three short questions when they get up in the morning and when they go to bed. For example, This morning I woke up feeling ____ and I prefer to feel ____, and I am grateful to my dog because ____.

“Paws for the Good Stuff” (Goose Hill Press) is a six-month journal that will serve as a unique keepsake when it is completed, Montes De Oca says, and also features playful illustrations, inspiring quotations about dogs, simple weekly challenges, and access to six videos containing additional tips and resources.

“Paws for the Good Stuff is a unique dog-inspired journal guiding you on a joyful journey of gratitude and pawsitive thinking while at the same time celebrating your special relationship with your canine BFF,”  related Eric O’Grey, author of “Walking with Peety, the Dog Who Saved My Life.”

About the author

Carlyn Montes De Oca is an author, speaker, acupuncturist, wellness consultant, and animal advocate in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been a spokesperson for the Guardian Campaign at In Defense of Animals http://www.guardiancampaign.org/.