diff --git a/pool.js b/pool.js
index d6d0a49..aecc6df 100644
--- a/pool.js
+++ b/pool.js
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@
 var GO, // GO is global object, for passing to a REPL or finding in a core dump
     EventEmitter = require("events").EventEmitter,
     Stream = require("stream"),
-    inherits = require("util").inherits;
+    inherits = require("util").inherits,
+    http = require('http');
 
 //  Pool - manages a set of equivalent endpoints and distributes requests among them
 //
-// http: which endpoint HTTP module to use, either http.js or https.js
+// protocol: which endpoint HTTP module to use, either http.js or https.js
 // endpoints: array of strings formatted like "ip:port"
 // options: {
 //    max_pending: number of pending requests allowed (1000)
@@ -21,14 +22,14 @@ var GO, // GO is global object, for passing to a REPL or finding in a core dump
 //    max_retries: number (default = 5)
 //    agent_options: {} an object for passing options directly to the HTTP(S) Agent
 // }
-function Pool(http, endpoints, options) {
-    if (!http || !http.request || !http.Agent) {
+function Pool(protocol, endpoints, options) {
+    if (!protocol || !protocol.request || !protocol.Agent) {
         throw new Error("invalid http module");
     }
     if (! Array.isArray(endpoints)) {
         throw new Error("endpoints must be an array");
     }
-    this.http = http;
+    this.protocol = protocol;
 
     options = options || {};
     options.retry_filter = options.retry_filter || options.retryFilter;
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ function Pool(http, endpoints, options) {
     this.max_pending = options.max_pending || options.maxPending || 1000;
     this.endpoints = [];
     this.endpoints_by_name = {};
+    this.keep_alive = options.keep_alive || options.keepAlive;
+    this.agent_options = options.agent_options || options.agentOptions;
 
     this.length = 0;
     for (var i = 0; i < endpoints.length; i++) {
@@ -62,6 +65,17 @@ function Pool(http, endpoints, options) {
         throw new Error("no valid endpoints");
     }
 
+
+    if (this.keep_alive) {
+        if (protocol === http) {
+            this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTP(this.agent_options);
+        } else {
+            this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTPS(this.agent_options);
+        }
+    } else {
+        this.agent = new protocol.Agent(this.agent_options);
+    }
+
     // this special endpoint is returned when the pool is overloaded
     this.overloaded_endpoint = new GO.PoolEndpoint({Agent: Object}, null, null, {timeout: 0});
     this.overloaded_endpoint.special_endpoint = "overloaded";
@@ -309,7 +323,7 @@ Pool.prototype.add_endpoint = function (host_port) {
     var ip = ip_port[0];
     var port = +ip_port[1];
     if (port > 0 && port < 65536) {
-        var endpoint = new GO.PoolEndpoint(this.http, ip, port, this.options);
+        var endpoint = new GO.PoolEndpoint(this.protocol, ip, port, this.options);
         endpoint.on("health", this.endpoint_health_changed.bind(this));
         endpoint.on("timeout", this.endpoint_timed_out.bind(this));
         this.endpoints.push(endpoint);
diff --git a/pool_endpoint.js b/pool_endpoint.js
index 178b430..6edec8a 100644
--- a/pool_endpoint.js
+++ b/pool_endpoint.js
@@ -33,14 +33,18 @@ function PoolEndpoint(protocol, ip, port, options) {
     this.keep_alive = options.keep_alive || options.keepAlive;
     this.agent_options = options.agent_options || options.agentOptions;
 
-    if (this.keep_alive) {
-        if (protocol === http) {
-            this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTP(this.agent_options);
+    if (options.agent) {
+        this.agent = options.agent;
+    } else {
+        if (this.keep_alive) {
+            if (protocol === http) {
+                this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTP(this.agent_options);
+            } else {
+                this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTPS(this.agent_options);
+            }
         } else {
-            this.agent = new GO.KeepAliveAgent.HTTPS(this.agent_options);
+            this.agent = new protocol.Agent(this.agent_options);
         }
-    } else {
-        this.agent = new protocol.Agent(this.agent_options);
     }
 
     if (this.agent && typeof this.agent.getName === 'function') {