diff --git a/lib/pg/driver.js b/lib/pg/driver.js
index fba3297..5c04f7f 100644
--- a/lib/pg/driver.js
+++ b/lib/pg/driver.js
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
-var pg = require('pg');
 var Table = require('../table');
 var Column = require('./column');
 var Index = require('./index');
 
+var has_pg = false, pg;
+try {
+  has_pg = require.resolve('pg');
+} catch(e) {}
+if (has_pg) {
+  pg = require('pg');
+}
+
 exports.connect = function (options, callback) {
+  if (!pg) return callback(new Error("you must install the `pg` module in order to use dbmeta.connect()"));
   var client = new pg.Client(options);
   client.connect(onConnect);
   function onConnect(err) {