diff --git a/stapler/handlers.py b/stapler/handlers.py
index 1add5f1..c91c22b 100644
--- a/stapler/handlers.py
+++ b/stapler/handlers.py
@@ -166,7 +166,12 @@ class BaseHandler(abc.ABC, http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
                 http.HTTPStatus.BAD_GATEWAY, f"Could not reach {url}", explain=str(e)
             )
             return
-        self.send_response(response.status_code, response.reason)
+        self.send_response(
+            response.status_code
+            if type(response.status_code) is int
+            else http.HTTPStatus.BAD_GATEWAY,
+            response.reason,
+        )
         for header, value in response.headers.items():
             if header.lower() not in [
                 "content-length",