Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Okay, people, I'm trying not to freak out and it's so NOT working!!!  I just came upon this SNAKE in my back yard and I don't know what it is and my poor doggies could attack it and get bit and die writhing in agony and how am I supposed to work out there with a huge slithery thing lurking in the bushes?????

So, does anyone know what the heck this is?  I'm in Southern California, btw.  It's not a rattlesnake as I know QUITE well what those look like ....




Oh, here's a link to the pic if you want to see it closer up ....

And by the way, the last time I saw one of these things - which looked the same - was on my front stoop.  I promptly shrieked my fool head off and it jerked and zoomed back into the bushes.  So, this tells me that snakes have pretty good hearing.

LOL.