diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 544edbb..b922214 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -242,14 +243,27 @@ func puppetNodeExists(client *http.Client, event *types.Event) (bool, error) {
 	endpoint = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", endpoint, name)
 	resp, err := client.Get(endpoint)
 	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("error getting puppet node: %s", err)
 		return false, err
 	}
-	_ = resp.Body.Close()
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
 	// Determine if the node exists
 	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK {
-		log.Printf("puppet node %q exists", name)
-		return true, nil
+		var info map[string]interface{}
+		if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&info); err != nil {
+			log.Printf("puppet node returned invalid response: %s", err)
+			return false, err
+		}
+		nodeInfo := make(map[string]interface{})
+		timeDeactivated := nodeInfo["deactivated"]
+
+		log.Printf("puppet node %q exists, checking if deactivated", name)
+		if timeDeactivated != nil {
+			return false, nil
+		} else {
+			return true, nil
+		}
 	} else if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotFound {
 		log.Printf("puppet node %q does not exist", name)
 		return false, nil
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index a2bfffe..5fc8729 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/sensu/sensu-go/types"
 )
@@ -161,6 +163,9 @@ func Test_puppetNodeExists(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 				w.WriteHeader(tt.statusCode)
+				if tt.statusCode == http.StatusOK {
+					_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]interface{}{"deactivated": time.Now().Unix()})
+				}
 			}))
 			defer ts.Close()
 			handler.endpoint = ts.URL