is there a way to prevent power dissipation?
Yes, use a logic level N-channel MOSFET to switch the low side. You want logic level as it won't require more than 5v to turn on fully.
A FET with a low Rds(on) will dissipate much less that a transistor, you can calculate dissipation with P = V*V/R.
If you want SMD, the IRLML2402 is a nice part in SOT23. http://www.irf.com/product-info/datasheets/data/irlml2402.pdf
For through hole parts, Digikey's parametric search comes up with many choices, the first one is good for 600mA at 5v gate, second one is quite beefy with a really low Rds(on):