diff --git a/lib/output-riemann.js b/lib/output-riemann.js
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/lib/output-riemann.js
+++ b/lib/output-riemann.js
@@ -37,8 +37,11 @@ metric	A number associated with this event, e.g. the number of reqs/sec.
 ttl	A floating-point time, in seconds, that this event is considered valid for. Expired states may be removed from the index.
 */
 
-RiemannOutput.prototype._write = function _write(event, encoding, callback)
+RiemannOutput.prototype._write = function _write(data, encoding, callback)
 {
+    var event = {};
+    _.assign(event, data);
+
     // Reimann operates in seconds, not milliseconds
     if (event.time) event.time = Math.round(event.time/1000);
     this.client.send(this.client.Event(event));
Riemann sink needs to operate on a copy of the object, not the
original, otherwise its insistence on coarse seconds loses data for
everybody else.