Tarina and Mika: A partnership for everywhere

For Tarina Warren and her Seeing Eye Dog Mika, there’s been no environment the pair haven’t been able to navigate. 

The pair were matched together in late 2025 after Tarina, who has been legally blind for more than 30 years due to Stargardt’s disease, experienced a sudden decline in her vision. 

Tarina lives in Yorketown in regional South Australia but also travels regularly to Adelaide and to Moolooloo Station, a 60,000-hectare sheep station in the Flinders Ranges owned and operated by Tarina and her husband. Mika has quickly proved her ability to help Tarina be active and independent in all of those locations. 

“We spend most of our time in Yorketown where Mika is working in town like a lot of other Seeing Eye Dogs and we spend a bit of time in Adelaide as well and she really seems to enjoy working in the built-up areas and the CBD,” Tarina said. 

“We probably spend two months of the year up at the station and she’s got used to that as well. People often wonder what how she helps me at the station when there’s not things like curbs or traffic to navigate,” she said.

“It can be quite difficult for me to stay on the trails, especially when everything is brown because of the drought we’re in, so Mika is great at keeping me on the trails and out the bushes and helping me find the different buildings around the place.”

Not only has Mika adapted to different environments, she’s also quickly become used to Tarina’s career as a physiotherapist.

“She spends a bit of time in the clinic with me, and she settles in really quickly. I would say nine out of 10 of my patients don’t even know she’s there under the desk unless she yawns or something like that.”

While Mika has worked in places many Seeing Eye Dogs may never visit, Tarina said the biggest impact has been the everyday support Mika provides.

“I’ve always been a very active and independent person and when my vision deteriorated, I found that I was very reluctant to go to new places. It was also getting quite dangerous; I was covered in bruises from bumping into things and catching myself on doorknobs.

“I probably should’ve been using a cane more than I was, but I just didn’t really take to it. I also didn’t want to have to have someone come with me when I was out getting the groceries or that sort of thing, so a Seeing Eye Dog just seemed to be the option for me to maintain my independence and that’s what Mika has done.”

The pair’s partnership has proved so effective that people often mistake Mika for a Seeing Eye Dog in training. 

“Particularly when I’m in the city people will often see us out and about and ask if I’m training her and they’re quite surprised when I say I’m not.

“One of the things I did find when using a cane was that it was slowing me down a bit, but with Mika I’m able to walk very upright and quite quickly, which I love. I’ve actually had to do some work with Brooke, our instructor, to slow down so my husband can keep up with us.”

With Tarina and Mika only new to their partnership, Tarina says she’s excited about what the future might hold.