diff --git a/litellm-sidecar/src/main.rs b/litellm-sidecar/src/main.rs
index febf6ba668e..ebfab606865 100644
--- a/litellm-sidecar/src/main.rs
+++ b/litellm-sidecar/src/main.rs
@@ -33,18 +33,18 @@ impl Sidecar {
     }
 
     fn get_or_create_client(&self, host: &str) -> Client {
-        if let Some(client) = self.pools.get(host) {
-            return client.clone();
-        }
-        let client = Client::builder()
-            .pool_max_idle_per_host(200)
-            .pool_idle_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(90))
-            .tcp_keepalive(std::time::Duration::from_secs(60))
-            .tcp_nodelay(true)
-            .build()
-            .expect("Failed to build reqwest client");
-        self.pools.insert(host.to_string(), client.clone());
-        client
+        self.pools
+            .entry(host.to_string())
+            .or_insert_with(|| {
+                Client::builder()
+                    .pool_max_idle_per_host(200)
+                    .pool_idle_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(90))
+                    .tcp_keepalive(std::time::Duration::from_secs(60))
+                    .tcp_nodelay(true)
+                    .build()
+                    .expect("Failed to build reqwest client")
+            })
+            .clone()
     }
 }
 
@@ -117,6 +117,13 @@ async fn handle_request(
         .map(|v| v == "true")
         .unwrap_or(false);
 
+    let method_str = req
+        .headers()
+        .get("x-litellm-method")
+        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
+        .unwrap_or("POST")
+        .to_uppercase();
+
     let content_type = req
         .headers()
         .get("content-type")
@@ -157,11 +164,21 @@ async fn handle_request(
     let client = sidecar.get_or_create_client(&host);
     let full_url = format!("{}{}", provider_url.trim_end_matches('/'), request_path);
 
-    let mut req_builder = client
-        .post(&full_url)
+    let mut req_builder = match method_str.as_str() {
+        "GET" => client.get(&full_url),
+        "PUT" => client.put(&full_url),
+        "PATCH" => client.patch(&full_url),
+        "DELETE" => client.delete(&full_url),
+        _ => client.post(&full_url),
+    };
+
+    req_builder = req_builder
         .header("content-type", &content_type)
-        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(timeout_secs))
-        .body(body_bytes.to_vec());
+        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(timeout_secs));
+
+    if method_str != "GET" {
+        req_builder = req_builder.body(body_bytes.to_vec());
+    }
 
     if !api_key.is_empty() {
         req_builder = req_builder.header("authorization", format!("Bearer {}", api_key));
@@ -197,7 +214,13 @@ async fn handle_request(
 
     if is_stream {
         let stream = provider_response.bytes_stream().map(|result| {
-            Ok::<_, Infallible>(Frame::data(result.unwrap_or_default()))
+            match result {
+                Ok(bytes) => Ok::<_, Infallible>(Frame::data(bytes)),
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::warn!("Stream chunk error: {}", e);
+                    Ok(Frame::data(Bytes::new()))
+                }
+            }
         });
         let elapsed = start.elapsed().as_micros() as u64;
         sidecar.total_latency_us.fetch_add(elapsed, Ordering::Relaxed);
diff --git a/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py b/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
index c8f5a303770..7a08432b9a1 100644
--- a/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
+++ b/litellm/integrations/prometheus.py
@@ -887,7 +887,7 @@ class PrometheusLogger(CustomLogger):
         from litellm.types.utils import StandardLoggingPayload
 
         verbose_logger.debug(
-            "prometheus Logging - Enters success logging function"
+            f"prometheus Logging - Enters success logging function for kwargs {kwargs}"
         )
 
         # unpack kwargs
@@ -943,10 +943,9 @@ class PrometheusLogger(CustomLogger):
         else:
             _tags = []
 
-        if litellm.set_verbose:
-            print_verbose(
-                f"inside track_prometheus_metrics, model {model}, response_cost {response_cost}, tokens_used {tokens_used}"
-            )
+        print_verbose(
+            f"inside track_prometheus_metrics, model {model}, response_cost {response_cost}, tokens_used {tokens_used}, end_user_id {end_user_id}, user_api_key {user_api_key}"
+        )
 
         enum_values = UserAPIKeyLabelValues(
             end_user=end_user_id,
@@ -3057,13 +3056,15 @@ def prometheus_label_factory(
 
     Ensures end_user param is not sent to prometheus if it is not supported.
     """
-    enum_dict = enum_values.get_label_dict()
+    # Extract dictionary from Pydantic object
+    enum_dict = enum_values.model_dump()
 
-    supported_set = frozenset(supported_enum_labels) if not isinstance(supported_enum_labels, (set, frozenset)) else supported_enum_labels
+    # Filter supported labels and sanitize values to prevent breaking
+    # the Prometheus text format (e.g. U+2028 Line Separator in label values)
     filtered_labels = {
         label: _sanitize_prometheus_label_value(value)
         for label, value in enum_dict.items()
-        if label in supported_set
+        if label in supported_enum_labels
     }
 
     if UserAPIKeyLabelNames.END_USER.value in filtered_labels:
@@ -3078,14 +3079,14 @@ def prometheus_label_factory(
         for key, value in enum_values.custom_metadata_labels.items():
             # check sanitized key
             sanitized_key = _sanitize_prometheus_label_name(key)
-            if sanitized_key in supported_set:
+            if sanitized_key in supported_enum_labels:
                 filtered_labels[sanitized_key] = _sanitize_prometheus_label_value(value)
 
     # Add custom tags if configured
     if enum_values.tags is not None:
         custom_tag_labels = get_custom_labels_from_tags(enum_values.tags)
         for key, value in custom_tag_labels.items():
-            if key in supported_set:
+            if key in supported_enum_labels:
                 filtered_labels[key] = _sanitize_prometheus_label_value(value)
 
     for label in supported_enum_labels:
diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/litellm_logging.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/litellm_logging.py
index 6c2dabc9411..6f587abcdf1 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/litellm_logging.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/litellm_logging.py
@@ -1476,7 +1476,7 @@ class Logging(LiteLLMLoggingBaseClass):
                 **response_cost_calculator_kwargs
             )
 
-            verbose_logger.debug("response_cost: %s", response_cost)
+            verbose_logger.debug(f"response_cost: {response_cost}")
             return response_cost
         except Exception as e:  # error calculating cost
             debug_info = StandardLoggingModelCostFailureDebugInformation(
diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tool_call_cost_tracking.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tool_call_cost_tracking.py
index 0fd472c02ad..4a4a2508d2e 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tool_call_cost_tracking.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tool_call_cost_tracking.py
@@ -387,12 +387,11 @@ class StandardBuiltInToolCostTracking:
                 message: Optional[Message] = getattr(choice, "message", None)
                 if message is None:
                     continue
-                annotations = getattr(message, "annotations", None)
-                if annotations:
-                    for annotation in annotations:
-                        _type = annotation.get("type") if isinstance(annotation, dict) else getattr(annotation, "type", None)
-                        if _type == annotation_type:
-                            return True
+                if annotations := getattr(message, "annotations", None):
+                    if len(annotations) > 0:
+                        for annotation in annotations:
+                            if annotation.get("type", None) == annotation_type:
+                                return True
         return False
 
     @staticmethod
diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/safe_json_dumps.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/safe_json_dumps.py
index bd19583bfac..051aa2f27a5 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/safe_json_dumps.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/safe_json_dumps.py
@@ -5,13 +5,6 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from litellm.constants import DEFAULT_MAX_RECURSE_DEPTH
 
-try:
-    import orjson
-
-    _has_orjson = True
-except ImportError:
-    _has_orjson = False
-
 
 def safe_dumps(data: Any, max_depth: int = DEFAULT_MAX_RECURSE_DEPTH) -> str:
     """
@@ -20,10 +13,13 @@ def safe_dumps(data: Any, max_depth: int = DEFAULT_MAX_RECURSE_DEPTH) -> str:
     """
 
     def _serialize(obj: Any, seen: set, depth: int) -> Any:
+        # Check for maximum depth.
         if depth > max_depth:
             return "MaxDepthExceeded"
+        # Base-case: if it is a primitive, simply return it.
         if isinstance(obj, (str, int, float, bool, type(None))):
             return obj
+        # Check for circular reference.
         if id(obj) in seen:
             return "CircularReference Detected"
         seen.add(id(obj))
@@ -31,7 +27,7 @@ def safe_dumps(data: Any, max_depth: int = DEFAULT_MAX_RECURSE_DEPTH) -> str:
         if isinstance(obj, dict):
             result = {}
             for k, v in obj.items():
-                if isinstance(k, str):
+                if isinstance(k, (str)):
                     result[k] = _serialize(v, seen, depth + 1)
             seen.remove(id(obj))
             return result
@@ -53,12 +49,11 @@ def safe_dumps(data: Any, max_depth: int = DEFAULT_MAX_RECURSE_DEPTH) -> str:
             seen.remove(id(obj))
             return result
         else:
+            # Fall back to string conversion for non-serializable objects.
             try:
                 return str(obj)
             except Exception:
                 return "Unserializable Object"
 
     safe_data = _serialize(data, set(), 0)
-    if _has_orjson:
-        return orjson.dumps(safe_data, default=str).decode()
     return json.dumps(safe_data, default=str)
diff --git a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/http_handler.py b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/http_handler.py
index 69dc0175585..3dfef07d426 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/http_handler.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/http_handler.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import asyncio
-import functools
 import os
 import ssl
 import sys
@@ -52,21 +51,6 @@ try:
 except Exception:
     version = "0.0.0"
 
-
-@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=64)
-def _parse_url(url: str) -> httpx.URL:
-    """Pre-parse a URL string into an httpx.URL to avoid regex-heavy
-    parsing inside httpx._merge_url on every request (~7μs → ~0.4μs).
-
-    Safe to use with ``build_request(params=...)``: httpx replaces the
-    query string entirely when ``params`` is non-None, so any query
-    params baked into the cached URL are harmless in that case.  When
-    ``params`` is None the cached URL preserves the original query
-    string, which is the correct behaviour.
-    """
-    return httpx.URL(url)
-
-
 def get_default_headers() -> dict:
     """
     Get default headers for HTTP requests.
@@ -440,7 +424,7 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
         params.update(HTTPHandler.extract_query_params(url))
 
         response = await self.client.get(
-            _parse_url(url), params=params, headers=headers, follow_redirects=_follow_redirects  # type: ignore
+            url, params=params, headers=headers, follow_redirects=_follow_redirects  # type: ignore
         )
         return response
 
@@ -468,10 +452,9 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
                 data, content
             )
 
-            parsed_url = _parse_url(url)
             req = self.client.build_request(
                 "POST",
-                parsed_url,
+                url,
                 data=request_data,
                 json=json,
                 params=params,
@@ -550,7 +533,7 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
             )
 
             req = self.client.build_request(
-                "PUT", _parse_url(url), data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                "PUT", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
             )
             response = await self.client.send(req)
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -616,7 +599,7 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
             )
 
             req = self.client.build_request(
-                "PATCH", _parse_url(url), data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                "PATCH", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
             )
             response = await self.client.send(req)
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -682,7 +665,7 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
             )
 
             req = self.client.build_request(
-                "DELETE", _parse_url(url), data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                "DELETE", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
             )
             response = await self.client.send(req, stream=stream)
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -734,7 +717,7 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
         request_data, request_content = _prepare_request_data_and_content(data, content)
 
         req = client.build_request(
-            "POST", _parse_url(url), data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+            "POST", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
         )
         response = await client.send(req, stream=stream)
         response.raise_for_status()
@@ -754,17 +737,18 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
     ) -> Optional[Union[LiteLLMAiohttpTransport, AsyncHTTPTransport]]:
         """
         - Creates a transport for httpx.AsyncClient
-            - if USE_SIDECAR is set, use the Rust sidecar transport
             - if litellm.force_ipv4 is True, it will return AsyncHTTPTransport with local_address="0.0.0.0"
             - [Default] It will return AiohttpTransport
             - Users can opt out of using AiohttpTransport by setting litellm.use_aiohttp_transport to False
-        """
-        #########################################################
-        # SIDECAR TRANSPORT — Rust-based HTTP forwarding
-        #########################################################
-        if AsyncHTTPHandler._should_use_sidecar_transport():
-            return AsyncHTTPHandler._create_sidecar_transport()
 
+
+        Notes on this handler:
+        - Why AiohttpTransport?
+            - By default, we use AiohttpTransport since it offers much higher throughput and lower latency than httpx.
+
+        - Why force ipv4?
+            - Some users have seen httpx ConnectionError when using ipv6 - forcing ipv4 resolves the issue for them
+        """
         #########################################################
         # AIOHTTP TRANSPORT is off by default
         #########################################################
@@ -780,23 +764,6 @@ class AsyncHTTPHandler:
         #########################################################
         return AsyncHTTPHandler._create_httpx_transport()
 
-    @staticmethod
-    def _should_use_sidecar_transport() -> bool:
-        """Check if the Rust sidecar transport is enabled via env var."""
-        return os.getenv("USE_SIDECAR", "").lower() == "true"
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _create_sidecar_transport():
-        """Create a sidecar transport that forwards requests through the Rust binary."""
-        from litellm.llms.custom_httpx.sidecar_transport import (
-            LiteLLMSidecarTransport,
-        )
-
-        port = int(os.getenv("SIDECAR_PORT", "8787"))
-        sidecar_url = f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}"
-        verbose_logger.info("Using Sidecar transport → %s", sidecar_url)
-        return LiteLLMSidecarTransport(sidecar_url=sidecar_url)
-
     @staticmethod
     def _should_use_aiohttp_transport() -> bool:
         """
@@ -1001,7 +968,7 @@ class HTTPHandler:
         params.update(self.extract_query_params(url))
 
         response = self.client.get(
-            _parse_url(url),
+            url,
             params=params,
             headers=headers,
         )
@@ -1040,11 +1007,10 @@ class HTTPHandler:
                 data, content
             )
 
-            parsed_url = _parse_url(url)
             if timeout is not None:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
                     "POST",
-                    parsed_url,
+                    url,
                     data=request_data,  # type: ignore
                     json=json,
                     params=params,
@@ -1055,7 +1021,7 @@ class HTTPHandler:
                 )
             else:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "POST", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, files=files, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "POST", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, files=files, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             response = self.client.send(req, stream=stream)
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -1097,14 +1063,13 @@ class HTTPHandler:
                 data, content
             )
 
-            parsed_url = _parse_url(url)
             if timeout is not None:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "PATCH", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "PATCH", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             else:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "PATCH", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "PATCH", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             response = self.client.send(req, stream=stream)
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -1147,14 +1112,13 @@ class HTTPHandler:
                 data, content
             )
 
-            parsed_url = _parse_url(url)
             if timeout is not None:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "PUT", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "PUT", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             else:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "PUT", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "PUT", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             response = self.client.send(req, stream=stream)
             return response
@@ -1184,14 +1148,13 @@ class HTTPHandler:
                 data, content
             )
 
-            parsed_url = _parse_url(url)
             if timeout is not None:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "DELETE", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "DELETE", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, timeout=timeout, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             else:
                 req = self.client.build_request(
-                    "DELETE", parsed_url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
+                    "DELETE", url, data=request_data, json=json, params=params, headers=headers, content=request_content  # type: ignore
                 )
             response = self.client.send(req, stream=stream)
             response.raise_for_status()
diff --git a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/llm_http_handler.py b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/llm_http_handler.py
index 7eccc8fe71c..449b099e98e 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/llm_http_handler.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/llm_http_handler.py
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 import json
-import orjson
 import ssl
+
+try:
+    import orjson
+    _has_orjson = True
+except ImportError:
+    _has_orjson = False
 from typing import (
     TYPE_CHECKING,
     Any,
@@ -181,7 +186,7 @@ class BaseLLMHTTPHandler:
                     data=(
                         signed_json_body
                         if signed_json_body is not None
-                        else orjson.dumps(data)
+                        else (orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode())
                     ),
                     timeout=timeout,
                     stream=stream,
@@ -241,7 +246,7 @@ class BaseLLMHTTPHandler:
                     data=(
                         signed_json_body
                         if signed_json_body is not None
-                        else orjson.dumps(data)
+                        else (orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode())
                     ),
                     timeout=timeout,
                     stream=stream,
diff --git a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/sidecar_transport.py b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/sidecar_transport.py
index c4dfe5fa51b..2a319e719fb 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/sidecar_transport.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/custom_httpx/sidecar_transport.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class SidecarResponseStream(httpx.AsyncByteStream):
             yield chunk
 
     async def aclose(self) -> None:
-        self._response.close()
+        self._response.release()
 
 
 class LiteLLMSidecarTransport(httpx.AsyncBaseTransport):
@@ -94,11 +94,17 @@ class LiteLLMSidecarTransport(httpx.AsyncBaseTransport):
             "Content-Type": request.headers.get("content-type", "application/json"),
         }
 
-        # Copy provider-specific headers the sidecar should forward
-        for key in ("x-api-key", "anthropic-version", "x-goog-api-key"):
-            val = request.headers.get(key)
-            if val:
-                headers[f"X-LiteLLM-Fwd-{key}"] = val
+        _skip_headers = frozenset({
+            "host", "content-length", "transfer-encoding", "connection",
+            "authorization", "content-type", "accept", "user-agent",
+            "accept-encoding",
+        })
+        for key, val in request.headers.items():
+            lower = key.lower()
+            if lower not in _skip_headers and not lower.startswith("x-litellm-"):
+                headers[f"X-LiteLLM-Fwd-{lower}"] = val
+
+        headers["X-LiteLLM-Method"] = str(request.method)
 
         session = self._get_session()
         resp = await session.post(
diff --git a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/handler.py b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/handler.py
index 1a86d18bad9..161591cab59 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/handler.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/handler.py
@@ -4,9 +4,15 @@ OpenAI-like chat completion handler
 For handling OpenAI-like chat completions, like IBM WatsonX, etc.
 """
 
-import orjson
+import json
 from typing import Any, Callable, Optional, Union
 
+try:
+    import orjson
+    _has_orjson = True
+except ImportError:
+    _has_orjson = False
+
 import httpx
 
 import litellm
@@ -139,7 +145,7 @@ class OpenAILikeChatHandler(OpenAILikeBase):
             client=client,
             api_base=api_base,
             headers=headers,
-            data=orjson.dumps(data),
+            data=(orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode()),
             model=model,
             messages=messages,
             logging_obj=logging_obj,
@@ -185,7 +191,7 @@ class OpenAILikeChatHandler(OpenAILikeBase):
 
         try:
             response = await client.post(
-                api_base, headers=headers, data=orjson.dumps(data), timeout=timeout
+                api_base, headers=headers, data=(orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode()), timeout=timeout
             )
             response.raise_for_status()
         except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
@@ -350,7 +356,7 @@ class OpenAILikeChatHandler(OpenAILikeBase):
                     ),
                     api_base=api_base,
                     headers=headers,
-                    data=orjson.dumps(data),
+                    data=(orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode()),
                     model=model,
                     messages=messages,
                     logging_obj=logging_obj,
@@ -370,7 +376,7 @@ class OpenAILikeChatHandler(OpenAILikeBase):
                     client = HTTPHandler(timeout=timeout)  # type: ignore
                 try:
                     response = client.post(
-                        url=api_base, headers=headers, data=orjson.dumps(data)
+                        url=api_base, headers=headers, data=(orjson.dumps(data) if _has_orjson else json.dumps(data).encode())
                     )
                     response.raise_for_status()
 
diff --git a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
index e450e26c3ca..759165dd919 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/openai_like/chat/transformation.py
@@ -5,7 +5,12 @@ OpenAI-like chat completion transformation
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 import httpx
-import orjson
+
+try:
+    import orjson
+    _has_orjson = True
+except ImportError:
+    _has_orjson = False
 
 from litellm.secret_managers.main import get_secret_str
 from litellm.types.llms.openai import AllMessageValues, ChatCompletionAssistantMessage
@@ -95,7 +100,7 @@ class OpenAILikeChatConfig(OpenAIGPTConfig):
         custom_llm_provider: Optional[str],
         base_model: Optional[str],
     ) -> ModelResponse:
-        response_json = orjson.loads(response.content)
+        response_json = orjson.loads(response.content) if _has_orjson else response.json()
         logging_obj.post_call(
             input=messages,
             api_key="",
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py b/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
index 37c80879073..ee97960c0a2 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/litellm_pre_call_utils.py
@@ -102,15 +102,10 @@ def get_chain_id_from_headers(headers: Optional[Dict[str, str]]) -> Optional[str
     """
     if not headers:
         return None
-    session_id = None
-    for k, v in headers.items():
-        if isinstance(k, str):
-            k_lower = k.lower()
-            if k_lower == "x-litellm-trace-id":
-                return v
-            elif session_id is None and k_lower == "x-litellm-session-id":
-                session_id = v
-    return session_id
+    normalized = {k.lower(): v for k, v in headers.items() if isinstance(k, str)}
+    return normalized.get("x-litellm-trace-id") or normalized.get(
+        "x-litellm-session-id"
+    )
 
 
 def safe_add_api_version_from_query_params(data: dict, request: Request):
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py b/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
index 216459ab132..db0bb735bab 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
@@ -948,33 +948,9 @@ async def proxy_startup_event(app: FastAPI):  # noqa: PLR0915
     ## Initialize shared aiohttp session for connection reuse
     shared_aiohttp_session = await _initialize_shared_aiohttp_session()
 
-    ## Initialize Rust sidecar client (optional, for high-perf forwarding)
-    _use_sidecar = os.environ.get("USE_SIDECAR", "").lower() == "true" or general_settings.get("use_sidecar", False)
-    if _use_sidecar:
-        from litellm.proxy.sidecar_client import init_sidecar_client
-
-        _sidecar_port = int(os.environ.get("SIDECAR_PORT", general_settings.get("sidecar_port", 8787)))
-        _sidecar_binary = os.environ.get("SIDECAR_BINARY", general_settings.get("sidecar_binary", ""))
-        await init_sidecar_client(
-            port=_sidecar_port,
-            binary=_sidecar_binary or None,
-            auto_start=bool(_sidecar_binary),
-        )
-
     # End of startup event
     yield
 
-    # Shutdown event - close sidecar client
-    try:
-        from litellm.proxy.sidecar_client import get_sidecar_client
-
-        _sc = get_sidecar_client()
-        if _sc is not None:
-            await _sc.close()
-            verbose_proxy_logger.info("Sidecar client closed")
-    except Exception:
-        pass
-
     # Shutdown event - close shared aiohttp session
     if shared_aiohttp_session is not None:
         try:
@@ -6639,25 +6615,21 @@ async def model_info(
     "/v1/chat/completions",
     dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
     tags=["chat/completions"],
-    response_class=ORJSONResponse,
 )
 @router.post(
     "/chat/completions",
     dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
     tags=["chat/completions"],
-    response_class=ORJSONResponse,
 )
 @router.post(
     "/engines/{model:path}/chat/completions",
     dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
     tags=["chat/completions"],
-    response_class=ORJSONResponse,
 )
 @router.post(
     "/openai/deployments/{model:path}/chat/completions",
     dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
     tags=["chat/completions"],
-    response_class=ORJSONResponse,
     responses={200: {"description": "Successful response"}, **ERROR_RESPONSES},
 )  # azure compatible endpoint
 async def chat_completion(  # noqa: PLR0915
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/sidecar_client.py b/litellm/proxy/sidecar_client.py
index eeeff90cf22..221af659253 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/sidecar_client.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/sidecar_client.py
@@ -59,11 +59,11 @@ class SidecarClient:
         self._healthy = await self._check_health()
         if self._healthy:
             verbose_proxy_logger.info(
-                f"Sidecar client connected to {self.sidecar_url}"
+                "Sidecar client connected to %s", self.sidecar_url
             )
         else:
             verbose_proxy_logger.warning(
-                f"Sidecar not available at {self.sidecar_url}, will use fallback"
+                "Sidecar not available at %s, will use fallback", self.sidecar_url
             )
 
     async def _start_sidecar(self):
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ class SidecarClient:
             self._process = subprocess.Popen(
                 [self.sidecar_binary],
                 env=env,
-                stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
-                stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
             )
             for _ in range(50):
                 await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/spend_tracking/spend_tracking_utils.py b/litellm/proxy/spend_tracking/spend_tracking_utils.py
index ef992b7299e..f381432a089 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/spend_tracking/spend_tracking_utils.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/spend_tracking/spend_tracking_utils.py
@@ -632,37 +632,61 @@ def _sanitize_request_body_for_spend_logs_payload(
     Recursively sanitize request body to prevent logging large base64 strings or other large values.
     Truncates strings longer than MAX_STRING_LENGTH_PROMPT_IN_DB characters and handles nested dictionaries.
     """
+    from litellm.constants import (
+        LITELLM_TRUNCATED_PAYLOAD_FIELD,
+        LITELLM_TRUNCATION_DB_SAFEGUARD_NOTE,
+    )
+
     if visited is None:
         visited = set()
     if max_string_length_prompt_in_db is None:
         max_string_length_prompt_in_db = _get_max_string_length_prompt_in_db()
 
+    # Get the object's memory address to track visited objects
     obj_id = id(request_body)
     if obj_id in visited:
         return {}
     visited.add(obj_id)
 
-    _max_len = max_string_length_prompt_in_db
-    _start_chars = int(_max_len * 0.35)
-    _end_chars = min(int(_max_len * 0.65), _max_len - _start_chars)
-
     def _sanitize_value(value: Any) -> Any:
-        if isinstance(value, str):
-            if len(value) > _max_len:
-                skipped_chars = len(value) - _start_chars - _end_chars
-                return (
-                    f"{value[:_start_chars]}"
-                    f"... ({LITELLM_TRUNCATED_PAYLOAD_FIELD} skipped {skipped_chars} chars. "
-                    f"{LITELLM_TRUNCATION_DB_SAFEGUARD_NOTE}) ..."
-                    f"{value[-_end_chars:]}"
-                )
-            return value
-        elif isinstance(value, dict):
+        if isinstance(value, dict):
             return _sanitize_request_body_for_spend_logs_payload(
-                value, visited, _max_len
+                value, visited, max_string_length_prompt_in_db
             )
         elif isinstance(value, list):
             return [_sanitize_value(item) for item in value]
+        elif isinstance(value, str):
+            if len(value) > max_string_length_prompt_in_db:
+                # Keep 35% from beginning and 65% from end (end is usually more important)
+                # This split ensures we keep more context from the end of conversations
+                start_ratio = 0.35
+                end_ratio = 0.65
+
+                # Calculate character distribution
+                start_chars = int(max_string_length_prompt_in_db * start_ratio)
+                end_chars = int(max_string_length_prompt_in_db * end_ratio)
+
+                # Ensure we don't exceed the total limit
+                total_keep = start_chars + end_chars
+                if total_keep > max_string_length_prompt_in_db:
+                    end_chars = max_string_length_prompt_in_db - start_chars
+
+                # If the string length is less than what we want to keep, just truncate normally
+                if len(value) <= max_string_length_prompt_in_db:
+                    return value
+
+                # Calculate how many characters are being skipped
+                skipped_chars = len(value) - total_keep
+
+                # Build the truncated string: beginning + truncation marker + end
+                truncated_value = (
+                    f"{value[:start_chars]}"
+                    f"... ({LITELLM_TRUNCATED_PAYLOAD_FIELD} skipped {skipped_chars} chars. "
+                    f"{LITELLM_TRUNCATION_DB_SAFEGUARD_NOTE}) ..."
+                    f"{value[-end_chars:]}"
+                )
+                return truncated_value
+            return value
         return value
 
     return {k: _sanitize_value(v) for k, v in request_body.items()}
diff --git a/litellm/router.py b/litellm/router.py
index a1eebf119cc..7119d2e850d 100644
--- a/litellm/router.py
+++ b/litellm/router.py
@@ -1314,30 +1314,24 @@ class Router:
 
     def print_deployment(self, deployment: dict):
         """
-        Returns a lightweight dict with model_name + litellm_params (api key masked).
+        returns a copy of the deployment with the api key masked
 
-        Only includes model_name and litellm_params to avoid deep-copying
-        the full deployment dict on every log call.
+        Only returns 2 characters of the api key and masks the rest with * (10 *).
         """
         try:
-            litellm_params: dict = deployment.get("litellm_params", {})
+            _deployment_copy = copy.deepcopy(deployment)
+            litellm_params: dict = _deployment_copy["litellm_params"]
+
             if litellm.redact_user_api_key_info:
                 masker = SensitiveDataMasker(visible_prefix=2, visible_suffix=0)
-                masked_params = masker.mask_dict(dict(litellm_params))
-            else:
-                masked_params = dict(litellm_params)
-                if "api_key" in masked_params:
-                    api_key = masked_params["api_key"]
-                    masked_params["api_key"] = (
-                        api_key[:2] + "*" * 10 if api_key else api_key
-                    )
-            return {
-                "model_name": deployment.get("model_name"),
-                "litellm_params": masked_params,
-            }
+                _deployment_copy["litellm_params"] = masker.mask_dict(litellm_params)
+            elif "api_key" in litellm_params:
+                litellm_params["api_key"] = litellm_params["api_key"][:2] + "*" * 10
+
+            return _deployment_copy
         except Exception as e:
             verbose_router_logger.debug(
-                "Error occurred while printing deployment - %s", str(e)
+                f"Error occurred while printing deployment - {str(e)}"
             )
             raise e
 
@@ -8931,13 +8925,9 @@ class Router:
                     parent_otel_span=parent_otel_span,
                 )
                 raise exception
-            if verbose_router_logger.isEnabledFor(logging.INFO):
-                verbose_router_logger.info(
-                    "get_available_deployment for model: %s, Selected deployment: %s for model: %s",
-                    model,
-                    self.print_deployment(deployment),
-                    model,
-                )
+            verbose_router_logger.info(
+                f"get_available_deployment for model: {model}, Selected deployment: {self.print_deployment(deployment)} for model: {model}"
+            )
 
             end_time = time.time()
             _duration = end_time - start_time
@@ -9087,12 +9077,9 @@ class Router:
                 )
                 raise exception
 
-            if verbose_router_logger.isEnabledFor(logging.INFO):
-                verbose_router_logger.info(
-                    "async_get_available_deployment_for_pass_through model: %s, selected deployment: %s",
-                    model,
-                    self.print_deployment(deployment),
-                )
+            verbose_router_logger.info(
+                f"async_get_available_deployment_for_pass_through model: {model}, selected deployment: {self.print_deployment(deployment)}"
+            )
 
             end_time = time.perf_counter()
             _duration = end_time - start_time
@@ -9281,13 +9268,9 @@ class Router:
                 enable_pre_call_checks=self.enable_pre_call_checks,
                 cooldown_list=_cooldown_list,
             )
-        if verbose_router_logger.isEnabledFor(logging.INFO):
-            verbose_router_logger.info(
-                "get_available_deployment for model: %s, Selected deployment: %s for model: %s",
-                model,
-                self.print_deployment(deployment),
-                model,
-            )
+        verbose_router_logger.info(
+            f"get_available_deployment for model: {model}, Selected deployment: {self.print_deployment(deployment)} for model: {model}"
+        )
         return deployment
 
     def get_available_deployment_for_pass_through(
@@ -9448,12 +9431,9 @@ class Router:
                 cooldown_list=_cooldown_list,
             )
 
-        if verbose_router_logger.isEnabledFor(logging.INFO):
-            verbose_router_logger.info(
-                "get_available_deployment_for_pass_through model: %s, selected deployment: %s",
-                model,
-                self.print_deployment(deployment),
-            )
+        verbose_router_logger.info(
+            f"get_available_deployment_for_pass_through model: {model}, selected deployment: {self.print_deployment(deployment)}"
+        )
         return deployment
 
     def _filter_cooldown_deployments(
diff --git a/litellm/router_strategy/simple_shuffle.py b/litellm/router_strategy/simple_shuffle.py
index 6da6544666f..ca82ddc6aa1 100644
--- a/litellm/router_strategy/simple_shuffle.py
+++ b/litellm/router_strategy/simple_shuffle.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ If weights are provided, it will return a deployment based on the weights.
 
 """
 
-import logging
 import random
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Union
 
@@ -53,13 +52,9 @@ def simple_shuffle(
             selected_index = random.choices(range(len(weights)), weights=weights)[0]
             verbose_router_logger.debug(f"\n selected index, {selected_index}")
             deployment = healthy_deployments[selected_index]
-            if verbose_router_logger.isEnabledFor(logging.INFO):
-                verbose_router_logger.info(
-                    "get_available_deployment for model: %s, Selected deployment: %s for model: %s",
-                    model,
-                    llm_router_instance.print_deployment(deployment) or deployment[0],
-                    model,
-                )
+            verbose_router_logger.info(
+                f"get_available_deployment for model: {model}, Selected deployment: {llm_router_instance.print_deployment(deployment) or deployment[0]} for model: {model}"
+            )
             return deployment or deployment[0]
 
 
diff --git a/litellm/types/integrations/prometheus.py b/litellm/types/integrations/prometheus.py
index ead8cde00ea..0856d8a6f9b 100644
--- a/litellm/types/integrations/prometheus.py
+++ b/litellm/types/integrations/prometheus.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import Enum
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Literal, Optional, Tuple
 
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, PrivateAttr, field_validator
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
 from typing_extensions import Annotated
 
 import litellm
@@ -722,8 +722,6 @@ class UserAPIKeyLabelValues(BaseModel):
         Optional[str], Field(..., alias=UserAPIKeyLabelNames.STREAM.value)
     ] = None
 
-    _cached_dump: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = PrivateAttr(default=None)
-
     @field_validator("stream", mode="before")
     @classmethod
     def coerce_stream_to_str(cls, v: Any) -> Optional[str]:
@@ -731,12 +729,6 @@ class UserAPIKeyLabelValues(BaseModel):
             return None
         return str(v)
 
-    def get_label_dict(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-        """Return cached model_dump() dict to avoid re-serializing on every prometheus_label_factory call."""
-        if self._cached_dump is None:
-            self._cached_dump = self.model_dump()
-        return self._cached_dump
-
 
 class PrometheusMetricsConfig(BaseModel):
     """Configuration for filtering Prometheus metrics"""
diff --git a/tests/load_tests/mock_openai_server.py b/tests/load_tests/mock_openai_server.py
index 47005bc67b4..71455db89f4 100644
--- a/tests/load_tests/mock_openai_server.py
+++ b/tests/load_tests/mock_openai_server.py
@@ -1,42 +1,41 @@
 """
 Ultra-fast mock OpenAI server for load testing.
-Returns minimal valid responses with near-zero processing time.
+Pre-serializes the response body so the mock adds near-zero overhead.
 """
-import time
+import orjson
 import uvicorn
-from fastapi import FastAPI, Request
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, StreamingResponse
+from fastapi import FastAPI, Request, Response
 
 app = FastAPI()
 
-MOCK_RESPONSE = {
-    "id": "chatcmpl-mock-loadtest",
-    "object": "chat.completion",
-    "created": 0,
-    "model": "fake-model",
-    "choices": [
-        {
-            "index": 0,
-            "message": {"role": "assistant", "content": "Mock response for load testing."},
-            "finish_reason": "stop",
-        }
-    ],
-    "usage": {"prompt_tokens": 10, "completion_tokens": 8, "total_tokens": 18},
-}
+_BODY = orjson.dumps(
+    {
+        "id": "chatcmpl-mock-loadtest",
+        "object": "chat.completion",
+        "created": 1700000000,
+        "model": "fake-model",
+        "choices": [
+            {
+                "index": 0,
+                "message": {"role": "assistant", "content": "Mock."},
+                "finish_reason": "stop",
+            }
+        ],
+        "usage": {"prompt_tokens": 10, "completion_tokens": 2, "total_tokens": 12},
+    }
+)
 
 
 @app.post("/v1/chat/completions")
 @app.post("/chat/completions")
 async def chat_completions(request: Request):
-    body = await request.body()
-    response = MOCK_RESPONSE.copy()
-    response["created"] = int(time.time())
-    return JSONResponse(response)
+    await request.body()
+    return Response(content=_BODY, media_type="application/json")
 
 
 @app.get("/health")
 async def health():
-    return {"status": "ok"}
+    return Response(content=b'{"status":"ok"}', media_type="application/json")
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":