Tarina and Mika: From the City to the Ranges

“Mika is such a sensitive and affectionate girl. She’s so gentle and strongly bonded to me, but also so keen to work,” Tarina says.

Tarina is a woman of many trades. A physio for 27 years, multi-business owner with her husband Reece, and a mother of three, Tarina thrives off being busy. Her greatest pride lies beyond the daily grind, a sprawling 600-square-kilometre sheep station nestled in the Flinders Ranges.

Tarina has done it all while living with Stargardt disease, a rare inherited condition that leads to progressive vision loss. By age 16, Tarina was legally blind, but it wasn’t until later in life that she made the leap to get support.

“I was really starting to see that my independence, especially on the station and around the farm, was going to be challenged, and I didn’t want to be depending on other people all the time,” she explains.

Late 2025 brought a life-changing match, Mika, Tarina's first Seeing Eye Dog. A gentle, hardworking girl, Mika has restored Tarina's freedom and gifted her the ability to keep exploring the outdoors. From hiking trails to four-wheel drive adventures, Tarina can continue to pursue her love of nature, with Mika right beside her.

“My world and experience were shrinking, and I was becoming too scared to go anywhere,” she says. “I felt like I was losing my sense of adventure and being able to do things on my own. Since having Mika, that has definitely come back. I don’t have any hesitation going to find a new location or travelling to other states.”

When on the sheep station together, Tarina and Mika take advantage of their surroundings by going on hikes together. While Mika is cautiously curious about the livestock, she allows Tarina to embrace the beauty of her farm.

“We go off on a hike together most mornings. Every now and then she’ll just stop and be high alert. I always think, what can you see, and it’ll end up being a kangaroo. She is of course such a reliable girl, but it’s also about the companionship. I feel less lost when she’s next to me, and people can now tell that I’m blind. I have a lot of people come up to me and ask questions now too. She’s been a really good icebreaker for me,” she says.

When they get the chance to head into the city, Tarina feels immense gratitude for the chance to explore the CBD alongside Mika. The pair recently celebrated their first interstate flight together, sparking Tarina’s hope for more travel adventures ahead. Her dream is to escape the hustle with Mika on a cruise, a well-earned break for the busy pair.