Sam Champion's coworkers need to lighten up!

Sam Champion, the tri-state area's most-watched weatherman, needs to tell his coworkers to lighten up a bit. According to 25 Hours, Bill Ritter, Lauren Glassberg and Sade Baderinwa were giving Sam grief for being the kind of person who gets professional pictures taken of his dog.

Sam at first defended himself, saying, "But when you love your dog, you just.... And I love that picture."

But then Sam backed down, adding, "I know what it sounds like. Oh, God."

Stop apologizing Sam! Stand your ground--there's nothing to be ashamed of. Tell your teleprompter-reading peers to lighten up and get their own pet portraits. (I'd never trust an anchor that wouldn't carry a wallet-sized picture of his or her own pet!)