diff --git a/ceilometer/publisher/gnocchi.py b/ceilometer/publisher/gnocchi.py
index 16872c33..5cfea378 100644
--- a/ceilometer/publisher/gnocchi.py
+++ b/ceilometer/publisher/gnocchi.py
@@ -123,8 +123,9 @@ def event_match(self, event_type):
 
     def sample_attributes(self, sample):
         attrs = {}
+        sample_dict = sample.as_dict()
         for name, definition in self._attributes.items():
-            value = definition.parse(sample.as_dict())
+            value = definition.parse(sample_dict)
             if value is not None:
                 attrs[name] = value
         return attrs