Owners of Sony Corp.'s Aibo robot dogs are asking the electronics maker to review its policy of discontinuing repairs seven years after a product is terminated, contending it will result in the toys' "deaths."

Sony released a revamped Aibo model in January, marking its return to robotics after discontinuing the original Aibo in 2006 amid restructuring efforts prompted by losses in its mainstay TV business, among other problems.

The latest batch of Aibo owners wants the same thing that thousands of other owners who bought its predecessor when it was on the market between 1999 and 2006 wanted: long companionship. The termination of repair services left owners of the original models grieving. Some even held funerals for their robotic canines when they could no longer walk or bark.