Provincetown Part-Time Residents Honor Local Activist, Debbie Grabler, for Her Contributions to Pilgrim Bark Park

The Provincetown Part-Time Resident Taxpayers Association (PPRTA) is pleased to announce the recipient of our annual Community Service Award, Ms. Debbie Grabler. This honor is in recognition of Ms. Grabler’s tireless work contributing to the establishment and maintenance of Provincetown’s “Pilgrim Bark Park” dog park (https://provincetowndogpark.org/). The PPRTA Community Service Award annually recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution through voluntary service which positively impacts the Provincetown community.  The individual’s service may be independent or through any local non-profit service organization or local chapter of a non-profit service organization.

The PPRTA recognizes that Ms. Grabler is not the only founder of the park, however, she has been a consistent and year-round custodian of the park and its mission. The “Pilgrim Bark Park” — recognized as one of the top 10 dog parks in the United States — is a unique gathering place for all of Provincetown’s residents and visitors to socialize with their furry companions and neighbors. We couldn’t be happier to celebrate the generosity of Ms. Grabler in giving back to the community. On Wednesday October 12, 2022, PPRTA president, Pat Miller, presented an award certificate and a “dog bone” memento to Ms. Grabler at a ceremony at the “Pilgrim Bark Park”. In addition, the PPRTA will donate $500 to the local charity of Ms. Grabler’s choice ( “Pilgrim Bark Park”, of course!) to commemorate her award.

The “Pilgrim Bark Park” was established in 2008 on an acre of unbuildable land donated by the town of Provincetown. The founders’ vision was to create a dog park where dogs can run free and socialize. A park to promote animal welfare. A park that is environmentally conscious, provides a venue for the arts and is a welcoming community space for all the area’s residents and visitors. Today the “Pilgrim Bark Park” is a gated, off-leash recreational space in Provincetown with the non-profit’s mission to attend to the ongoing maintenance and improvements of the dog park, provide a clean and safe playground for dogs and their owners, and be an amenity for tourists traveling with their dogs. The “Pilgrim Bark Park” is so named because it is recorded that in addition to the Pilgrims, an English Mastiff and English Springer Spaniel were aboard the Mayflower when it landed in Provincetown on November 11, 1620.  The name, “Pilgrim Bark Park” recalls those first canine explorers.

Established in 2013, the Provincetown Part-Time Resident Taxpayers Association is a 100% volunteer-run organization of concerned taxpayers whose economic and cultural contributions in Provincetown are vital to the preservation and sustainability of the Town. For more information, visit our website www.pprta.org.