Glad the event turned out OK for you, but I have a different take. Any small animal in my path gets run over, period. Swerving or braking in excess could lead to disasterous results as you rightly feared. I've hit a couple of dogs and a squirrel that came out after me with no ill effects to me. With the animals it was another matter. Now a large dog or a deer is different, but if it's small, and it's gonna be me or them, it'll be them. I'd like to hear others thoughts on this. (Wasn't long ago I read a lady with kids in the car swerved to avoid a dog and hit a pole. Screw the dog!)