diff --git a/debian/cocaine-native-proxy.init b/debian/cocaine-native-proxy.init
index eb4af2b..f249cc7 100644
--- a/debian/cocaine-native-proxy.init
+++ b/debian/cocaine-native-proxy.init
@@ -38,12 +38,19 @@ do_start()
 
        ARGS=" -c $conf"
        ulimit -n 65000; start-stop-daemon -S -p $PIDFILE -b -m -u $USER -d $CONFIG_DIR --exec $DAEMON -- $ARGS
-       
-       if [ $? -ne 0 ]; 
-       then
+       if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
              echo "FAIL"
+             return 1
+       fi
+
+       pid=$(cat $PIDFILE 2>/dev/null)
+       echo -n ' ..... '
+       sleep 0.5
+       if kill -0 $pid 2>/dev/null
+       then
+            echo "OK"
        else
-             echo "OK"
+            echo "FAIL"
        fi
     done
 }
diff --git a/proxy.cpp b/proxy.cpp
index 7699c45..e513be8 100644
--- a/proxy.cpp
+++ b/proxy.cpp
@@ -140,8 +140,11 @@ proxy::initialize(const rapidjson::Value &config) {
 }
 
 proxy::~proxy() {
-    COCAINE_LOG_INFO(m_service_manager->get_system_logger(),
-                     "Proxy will be stopped now.");
+    // in case of malformed config it could be uninitialized
+    if (m_service_manager) {
+        COCAINE_LOG_INFO(m_service_manager->get_system_logger(),
+                         "Proxy will be stopped now.");
+    }
 
     m_service_manager.reset();
 }