Looks like things at her own home aren’t ideal for Martha Stewart, who has been dubbed as “America’s goddess of domestic perfection”.

The 69-year old media mogul was sent to the hospital after sustaining a facial injury when her pet dog accidentally hit her. Allegedly, she was saying goodbye to her sleeping French bulldog Francesca when her pet reared up and struck her in the face.

The accidental “headbutt” split Stewart’s lip and in her blog she described the experience, “…she hit me in the face like a boxing glove hitting an opponent’s face. My neck snapped back. I felt a bit of whiplash as blood gushed forth from my split lip.”

Stewart called her daughter and then asked for a ride to the hospital from the police. A plastic surgeon Dr. William Nolan treated her. She received 9 stitches on her wound on her upper lip.

Although Stewart gamely took pictures of the injury and even posted it on her blog and talked about it on her show, her injury at the hands (or paws) of a beloved pet truly gives spirit to the saying, “Let sleeping dogs lie”.

That said, millions of Americans (especially children and old people) sustain injuries from dog bites or attacks. Dog bite injuries however, are by far the most common and even fatal type of injuries from dogs – as many as 4.7 million people are bitten every year and 800,000 Americans require medical attention due to these injuries. Because of these, annually, the insurance industry pays more than $1 billion because of dog bite claims.

While you can always file a personal injury lawsuit or a dog bite claim for monetary compensation if you get injured in an attack, avoiding these injuries in the first place would be better. Children as well as adults should know safe and proper behavior around dogs, whether it’s your own family pet or a strange dog. Here’s a few tips:

•    Be kind to dogs, don’t hit, kick, slap, or pull on a dog’s ears, tail or paws.
•    If a dog is sleeping, playing, eating, or nursing puppies, don’t bother the dog.
•    Never approach a dog that is tied up, behind a fence or in a car – 25 percent of fatal dog attacks involved chained dogs.
•    When around an unfamiliar dog, make slow movements and don’t run because this may excite them and cause them to chase after you.
•    If approached by a strange dog, stay still and keep your arms at your sides. Don’t look the dog in the eye.
•    If knocked down, curl up into a ball and keep your knees to your chest and your hands over your ears.