diff --git a/lib/puppet/indirector/couch.rb b/lib/puppet/indirector/couch.rb
index fae934fd8..243d33dd4 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/indirector/couch.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/indirector/couch.rb
@@ -1,76 +1,78 @@
-raise "Couch terminus not supported without couchrest gem" unless Puppet.features.couchdb?
-
-require 'couchrest'
 class Puppet::Indirector::Couch < Puppet::Indirector::Terminus
 
   # The CouchRest database instance. One database instance per Puppet runtime
   # should be sufficient.
   #
   def self.db; @db ||= CouchRest.database! Puppet[:couchdb_url] end
   def db; self.class.db end
 
   def find(request)
     attributes_of get(request)
   end
 
+  def initialize(*args)
+    raise "Couch terminus not supported without couchrest gem" unless Puppet.features.couchdb?
+    super
+  end
+
   # Create or update the couchdb document with the request's data hash.
   #
   def save(request)
     raise ArgumentError, "PUT does not accept options" unless request.options.empty?
     update(request) || create(request)
   end
 
   private
 
   # RKH:TODO: Do not depend on error handling, check if the document exists
   # first. (Does couchrest support this?)
   #
   def get(request)
     db.get(id_for(request))
   rescue RestClient::ResourceNotFound
     Puppet.debug "No couchdb document with id: #{id_for(request)}"
     return nil
   end
 
   def update(request)
     doc = get request
     return unless doc
     doc.merge!(hash_from(request))
     doc.save
     true
   end
 
   def create(request)
     db.save_doc hash_from(request)
   end
 
   # The attributes hash that is serialized to CouchDB as JSON. It includes
   # metadata that is used to help aggregate data in couchdb. Add
   # model-specific attributes in subclasses.
   #
   def hash_from(request)
     {
       "_id"         => id_for(request),
       "puppet_type" => document_type_for(request)
     }
   end
 
   # The couchdb response stripped of metadata, used to instantiate the model
   # instance that is returned by save.
   #
   def attributes_of(response)
     response && response.reject{|k,v| k =~ /^(_rev|puppet_)/ }
   end
 
   def document_type_for(request)
     request.indirection_name
   end
 
   # The id used to store the object in couchdb. Implemented in subclasses.
   #
   def id_for(request)
     raise NotImplementedError
   end
 
 end
 
diff --git a/spec/unit/indirector/facts/couch_spec.rb b/spec/unit/indirector/facts/couch_spec.rb
index 1de2f7dfb..3ac085251 100755
--- a/spec/unit/indirector/facts/couch_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/indirector/facts/couch_spec.rb
@@ -1,97 +1,103 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 require 'puppet/node/facts'
+require 'puppet/indirector/facts/couch'
 
-describe "Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch", :if => Puppet.features.couchdb? do
-  require 'puppet/indirector/facts/couch' if Puppet.features.couchdb?
-
-  before do
-    @mock_db = mock('couch db')
-    mock_document = CouchRest::Document.new(:_id => fake_request.key, :facts => fake_request.values)
-    mock_document.stubs(:database).returns(@mock_db)
-    @mock_db.stubs(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns(mock_document)
-    Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch.stubs(:db).returns(@mock_db)
+describe "Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch" do
+  describe "when couchdb is not available", :unless => Puppet.features.couchdb? do
+    it "should fail to initialize" do
+      lambda { Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch.new }.should raise_error
+    end
   end
 
-  subject { Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch }
-
-  describe "#find" do
-    describe "when the node document exists" do
-      it "should find the request by key" do
-        @mock_db.expects(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns({'_id' => fake_request.key, 'facts' => fake_request.instance.values})
-        subject.new.find(fake_request).should == fake_request.instance
-      end
+  describe "when couchdb is available", :if => Puppet.features.couchdb? do
+    before do
+      @mock_db = mock('couch db')
+      mock_document = CouchRest::Document.new(:_id => fake_request.key, :facts => fake_request.values)
+      mock_document.stubs(:database).returns(@mock_db)
+      @mock_db.stubs(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns(mock_document)
+      Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch.stubs(:db).returns(@mock_db)
     end
 
-    describe "when the node document does not exist" do
-      before do
-        @mock_db.expects(:get).
-          with(fake_request.key).
-          raises(RestClient::ResourceNotFound)
-      end
+    subject { Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch }
 
-      it "should return nil" do
-        subject.new.find(fake_request).should be_nil
+    describe "#find" do
+      describe "when the node document exists" do
+        it "should find the request by key" do
+          @mock_db.expects(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns({'_id' => fake_request.key, 'facts' => fake_request.instance.values})
+          subject.new.find(fake_request).should == fake_request.instance
+        end
       end
 
-      it "should send Puppet a debug message" do
-        Puppet.expects(:debug).with("No couchdb document with id: test.local")
-        subject.new.find(fake_request).should be_nil
-      end
+      describe "when the node document does not exist" do
+        before do
+          @mock_db.expects(:get).
+            with(fake_request.key).
+            raises(RestClient::ResourceNotFound)
+        end
 
-    end
-  end
+        it "should return nil" do
+          subject.new.find(fake_request).should be_nil
+        end
 
-  describe "#save" do
-    describe "with options" do
-      subject do
-        lambda { Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch.new.save(fake_request([1])) }
-      end
+        it "should send Puppet a debug message" do
+          Puppet.expects(:debug).with("No couchdb document with id: test.local")
+          subject.new.find(fake_request).should be_nil
+        end
 
-      it { should raise_error(ArgumentError, "PUT does not accept options") }
+      end
     end
 
-    it "should save the json to the CouchDB database" do
-      @mock_db.expects(:save_doc).at_least_once.returns({'ok' => true })
-      subject.new.save(fake_request)
-    end
+    describe "#save" do
+      describe "with options" do
+        subject do
+          lambda { Puppet::Node::Facts::Couch.new.save(fake_request([1])) }
+        end
 
-    describe "when the document exists" do
-      before do
-        @doc = CouchRest::Document.new(:_id => fake_request.key, :facts => fake_request.instance.values)
-        @mock_db.expects(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns(@doc)
+        it { should raise_error(ArgumentError, "PUT does not accept options") }
       end
 
-      it "saves the document" do
-        @doc.expects(:save)
+      it "should save the json to the CouchDB database" do
+        @mock_db.expects(:save_doc).at_least_once.returns({'ok' => true })
         subject.new.save(fake_request)
       end
 
-    end
+      describe "when the document exists" do
+        before do
+          @doc = CouchRest::Document.new(:_id => fake_request.key, :facts => fake_request.instance.values)
+          @mock_db.expects(:get).with(fake_request.key).returns(@doc)
+        end
+
+        it "saves the document" do
+          @doc.expects(:save)
+          subject.new.save(fake_request)
+        end
 
-    describe "when the document does not exist" do
-      before do
-        @mock_db.expects(:get).
-          with(fake_request.key).
-          raises(RestClient::ResourceNotFound)
       end
 
-      it "saves the document" do
-        @mock_db.expects(:save_doc)
-        subject.new.save(fake_request)
+      describe "when the document does not exist" do
+        before do
+          @mock_db.expects(:get).
+            with(fake_request.key).
+            raises(RestClient::ResourceNotFound)
+        end
+
+        it "saves the document" do
+          @mock_db.expects(:save_doc)
+          subject.new.save(fake_request)
+        end
+
       end
 
     end
 
+    def fake_request(options={})
+      facts = YAML.load_file(File.join(PuppetSpec::FIXTURE_DIR, 'yaml', 'test.local.yaml'))
+      Struct.new(:instance, :key, :options).new(facts, facts.name, options)
+    end
+    private :fake_request
   end
-
-  def fake_request(options={})
-    facts = YAML.load_file(File.join(PuppetSpec::FIXTURE_DIR, 'yaml', 'test.local.yaml'))
-    Struct.new(:instance, :key, :options).new(facts, facts.name, options)
-  end
-  private :fake_request
-
 end