WOW, I can feel the tension there bud, been there a few times; even had to do an evasive onto grass once... it's crazy thinking back... swearing mid wrestle with a tailhappy car on grass/mud.
Almost hit a dog on a dual carrigeway once, pitch black, raining, outside lane... "hey there's something in the road", start slowing down... WTFFFF!!! it's a dog running towards me... very, very close that was... it dissapeared into the night... madness.
When you click up 20k+ miles a year you sure do see some shizzle.
Glad your both OK, I'm sure your brakes saved you there bud - my preference is evasive but f*ck me if it's the last thing you think about... it's all about putting that brake pedal through the firewall isn't it, lol.