Car Accident With Dog Off Leash And No Owner Present

I was involved in an accident yesterday. I’m the driver with no passengers at the time of the accident. I was driving and a dog ran out in front on my car at the last minute. I braked and swerved trying to miss the dog, but I was unable to stop in time. Unfortunately, the dog died. Once I stopped, some neighbors came out and called the police for me and helped me with getting pictures. One of them knows the dog owner and said the dog was neglected and always out in the road. He had been trying to get him to sell the dog to him because he was always out trying to get food. He said he believed the dog may run out intentionally because of the lack of care by the owner. He offered to get the tag number of the dog owner and send it to me because he wasn’t home wouldn’t be back until late. I spoke to the neighbor this morning and he says the guy didn’t come home last night. I’ve received advice from family and the neighbors of the dog owner about going through his insurance and I’ve also been advised that I could get an attorney. In this situation, what advice would you give? This happened in Georgia.