KGW photo

Snowball.

SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Court of Appeals says Snowball, the deformed deer nursed back to health by a Molalla couple, won't be going back home with them.

The court said James Filipetti and Francesca Mantei lacked state permits and thus never really owned the deer.

The ruling reverses a Clackamas County decision.

Snowball is at Wildlife Safari in Winston.

 More: State: Snowball 'nonreturnable contraband'

The couple found her as a fawn in 2001 and paid for surgery to repair her deformed hind legs. She lived in their house, then moved to an outdoor enclosure and mated with a blind buck, giving birth to Bucky.

In March 2007 police seized both animals. Bucky was released into the wild. The blind buck had died.

Snowball, raised as a pet, likely would not have survived the wild.