diff --git a/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/PollingDaemon.java b/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/PollingDaemon.java
index dbfa98a..6885618 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/PollingDaemon.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/PollingDaemon.java
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
  * Polling thread that will terminate automatically when the application exits
  */
 public class PollingDaemon extends Thread {
+    public static final String PROPERTY_KEY = "com.emc.rest.smart.pollingDaemon";
+
     private static final Logger l4j = Logger.getLogger(PollingDaemon.class);
 
     private SmartConfig smartConfig;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/SmartClientFactory.java b/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/SmartClientFactory.java
index 628781d..db9c1d8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/SmartClientFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/emc/rest/smart/SmartClientFactory.java
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ public static Client createSmartClient(SmartConfig smartConfig,
         PollingDaemon pollingDaemon = new PollingDaemon(smartConfig);
         pollingDaemon.start();
 
+        // attach the daemon thread to the client so users can stop it when finished with the client
+        client.getProperties().put(PollingDaemon.PROPERTY_KEY, pollingDaemon);
+
         return client;
     }