catherine smith , 50 , was arrested tuesday at a bar in macon , georgia .
after winning smith 's home in an auction , the new owner came to check out the property that day and found a dead dog just inside the doorway .
police went on to find the decaying bodies of nine more dogs and three cats in the home which had a strong stench of ammonia .
officials believe the animals had been dead for months .
smith previously worked at macon-bibb animal welfare in 2012 , but was fired after two months for undisclosed reasons .
she appeared in court for the first time wednesday to face 13 counts of animal cruelty and is now free on bail .