I would do fleece blanket, quilts take up more room in the washer, and the batting just ends up clogging our drains when pulled out of the quilt after its chewed up by large dogs. Our kuranda beds are around about 2 feet by 3 feet give or take a few inches so I wouldn't go to great lengths to make anything too large. The fleece stuff lasts longer, most other stuff gets tossed after a single use. Our industrial washer doesn't fit that much for the 6 buildings we have so thats why we prefer the smaller blankets. Not sure about other animal shelters but that is how ours works