Scotty, as they called him, was a labourer at a make-work program to widen the aqueduct. He was not far off when he heard children, who were busy skating on the frozen ice, suddenly start screaming at about 3:15 p.m. on Wed. Dec. 28, 1932.
He saw a figure splashing around in the 35-foot deep water and rushed back to the work camp, stripped down and brought two big ropes back.
He tied the ropes to his body and crawled towards the hole in the ice on his hands and knees and leaped into the chilly waters and grabbed the struggling little battler. His colleagues then yanked him out of the water with the ropes.
While in the water he realized that it was a dog, not a child, that he was rescuing .. but he saved it anyway. (Petit Journal Jan. 1, 1933 p. 2)