The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is urging people to stay off the ice after it responded to an uptick in rescues in recent weeks.

"It's been a really unsafe ice situation so far this year. We've been called out, I think, six times in the past seven days," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Of those calls, Sheriff Bouchard says three of them are happening this weekend within a 24-hour time frame.

"Yesterday (Sunday), we had a report of a man through the ice. We've done multiple animal rescues, too. We actually had two situations where deer were trapped or through the ice, and one in which a dog, a family dog, actually perished. In a number of these incidents, we've recovered snowmobiles," Bouchard said.

Bouchard's advice is to stay off the ice. With the fluctuating temperatures, he says it's best to always assume it's dangerous.  

"Don't put yourself in that situation. We may not get there in time. If you slip under that ice like this dog did, then it turns into a recovery instead of a rescue," said Bouchard.

If you happen to find yourself in this type of dire situation, being prepared could save your life.

"The first few minutes once you're in there are really critical. You have to have the gear to pull you out. Have something that allows you to self-rescue, get out on top of the ice, and then roll. Stay flat and roll your way to shore. If you're flat out, you distribute that weight across more ice, and you're less likely to fall back through," Bouchard said. 

The sheriff encourages people to avoid the ice, at least for now, and to call 911 if they witness an animal or a person fall through. If you want to step in to help, he says, stay ashore and throw them a device.