17 pooches turning out to be a real pain for Paris Hilton!

Washington, Feb 16 : Paris Hilton has landed herself in a problem after boasting about keeping 17 dogs at home on the Ellen Degeneres show.

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services visited the heiress' home on Feb 14 to investigate a complaint about her owning 17 dogs.

During the chat show, 'The Hottie and the Nottie' actress very candidly talked about her pets.

"Oh my goodness," E! Online quoted Hilton, as telling DeGeneres when asked about her critters.

"I have 17 dogs," Hilton added.

When questioned on why she had so many pooches, Hilton said it was simply a matter of hormones.

"They keep having babies, and I feel bad to give them away 'cause I feel like if I had a baby and someone gave it away, it'd be mean. So, I feel bad for my dogs," she said.

Later a complaint was filed in response to Hilton's confession that she owned 17 dogs and so the department officials turned up at her house.

Los Angeles law dictates that non-pet breeders are allowed to own no more than three dogs per address.

After the cops reached at the millionaire's home, neither she was there nor any of her pets were found.

Hilton's rep has since claimed the canines in question have always been divided among several different animal caregivers, per city law.

ANI